Survey shows prayer tops list of complementary medicine

Thirty-six percent of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine, according to a new government survey of more than 31,000 adults. When prayer for health reasons was included in the definition, that percentage rose to 62 percent.

According to survey results released last week, the 10 most commonly used alternative therapies and the percentage of American adults using each were:

• Prayer for own health, 43 percent.

• Prayer by others for the respondent’s health, 24 percent.

• Natural products (herbs, botanicals, enzymes), 19 percent.

• Deep breathing exercises, 12 percent.

• Participation in prayer group for own health, 10 percent.

• Meditation, 8 percent.

• Chiropractic care, 8 percent.

• Yoga, 5 percent.

• Massage, 5 percent.

• Diet-based therapies (Atkins, Pritikin, Ornish, Zone diets), 4 percent.

The survey was part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2002 National Health Interview Survey.

Hot topic

Julian Rush, the national director of a Hemlock Society program called Caring Friends, will speak Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Spokane Valley Public Library, 12004 E. Main Ave. Caring Friends trains volunteers to give emotional support to terminally ill people who choose to take their own lives.

It’s a controversial topic. And timely. Last week, a federal appeals court ruled that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft had overstepped his authority by attempting to interfere with Oregon’s doctor-assisted suicide law.

Face transplants next?

Kentucky doctors are seeking permission from an ethics board to perform a face transplant, according to the cover story of the May 29 New Scientist magazine. The surgery is intended for patients severely disfigured by burns or other accidents, not as cosmetic surgery destined for next season of “The Swan.” A lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs would be required.

No vaccine link

Childhood vaccines don’t cause autism, according to a new review of the scientific evidence by the Institute of Medicine.

It states that neither the mercury-based vaccine preservative called thimerosal nor the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is associated with autism.

Fine print

Here’s an example of how journalists sometimes inflate the conclusions of small research projects: A recent study on caffeine was widely reported as suggesting that small doses of coffee throughout the day work better to stimulate alertness than a large mug of coffee in the morning. “Spread Out Your Coffee Breaks” advised one headline.

But that’s not what the study examined.

The researchers tested hourly small doses of caffeine against a placebo, or sugar pill —not against one large dose. There were only 16 men and no women in the study, another limitation on the results.

But “Caffeine Beats Placebo” isn’t such a great headline. I’m not going to change my coffee-drinking habits just yet.