Table 1-1. Participants Demographics/Characteristics (n=3,208).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

N % %
Gender
 Male 1,592 49.6
 Female 1,616 50.4
Age cohort
 20s 633 19.7
 30s 638 19.9
 40s 644 20.1
 50s 650 20.3
 60s 643 20.0
Final Education
 Junior High School 86 2.7
 High School 1,019 31.8
 Technical School 340 10.6
 Junior College 35 10.8
 University 1,348 38.8
 Graduate School 124 4.1
Health status
 Very good 135 4.2
 Good 1,105 34.4
 Tolerable 1,379 43.0
 Not very good 526 16.4
 Very poor 63 2.0
Long-term disease/disability
 Yes 1,028 32.0
% in 1,028 % in 3,208
 Hypertension 240 23.3 7.5
 Mental diseases 178 17.3 5.5
 Musculoskeletal diseases 139 13.5 4.3
 Skin diseases 133 12.9 4.1
 Hyperlipidemia 125 12.2 3.9
 Eye diseases 111 10.8 3.5
 Diabetes mellitus 99 9.6 3.1
 Digestive diseases 88 8.6 2.7
 Nasal diseases 88 8.6 2.7
 Dental diseases 83 8.1 2.6
 Respiratory diseases 67 6.5 2.1
 Cardiovascular diseases 43 4.2 1.3
 Cancer/malignant diseases 36 3.5 1.1
 Renal/urological diseases 35 3.4 1.1
 Ear diseases 34 3.3 1.1
 Immunological diseases 26 2.5 0.8
 Trauma 15 1.5 0.5
 Stroke 14 1.4 0.4
 Hematological diseases 14 1.4 0.4
 Others 159 15.5 5.0
Table 1-2. Subject Attributes of User of CAM Prescribed and/or Advised by Physicians (n=411).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

N % in 411 % in 3,208
Gender
 Male 181 41.0 5.6
 Female 230 52.2 7.2
Age cohort
 20s 77 17.5 2.4
 30s 64 14.5 2.0
 40s 82 18.6 2.6
 50s 91 20.6 2.8
 60s 97 17.5 3.0
Final Education
 Junior High School 15 4.2 0.5
 High School 111 31.4 3.5
 Technical School 41 11.6 1.3
 Higher professional school 3 0.8 0.1
 University 165 46.6 5.1
 Graduate School 19 5.4 0.6
Health status
 Very good 8 1.9 0.2
 Good 129 31.4 4.0
 Tolerable 163 39.7 5.1
 Not very good 100 24.3 3.1
 Very poor 11 2.7 0.3
Long-term disease/disability
 Yes 207 46.9
% in 207 % in 3,208
 Hypertension 51 24.6 1.6
 Mental diseases 44 21.3 1.4
 Musculoskeletal diseases 40 19.3 1.2
 Skin diseases 29 14.0 0.9
 Hyperlipidemia 26 12.6 0.8
 Eye diseases 20 9.7 0.6
 Diabetes mellitus 24 11.6 0.7
 Digestive diseases 19 9.2 0.6
 Nasal diseases 18 8.7 0.6
 Dental diseases 20 9.7 0.6
 Respiratory diseases 16 7.7 0.5
 Cardiovascular diseases 10 4.8 0.3
 Cancer/malignant diseases 7 3.4 0.2
 Renal/urological diseases 8 3.9 0.2
 Ear diseases 10 4.8 0.3
 Immunological diseases 10 4.8 0.3
 Trauma 5 2.4 0.2
 Stroke 2 1.0 0.1
 Hematological diseases 3 1.4 0.1
 Others 36 17.4 1.1
Table 2. Healthcare Providers Visited by the Participants during the Last 12 Months (n=3,208).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

Practitioner/Provider n %
1 Physician 1,757 54.8
2 Dentist 1,119 34.9
3 Pharmacist 942 29.4
4 Nurse 595 18.5
5 Massage/Shiatsu practitioner 184 5.7
6 Physical therapist 156 4.9
7 Judo therapist 100 3.1
8 Acupuncture/Moxibustion practitioner 84 2.6
9 Midwife 69 2.2
10 Yoga instructor 63 2.0
11 Nutritionist 34 1.1
12 Chiropractor 33 1.0
13 Aromatherapist 29 0.9
14 Spiritual therapist 7 0.2
15 Homeopathy therapist 2 0.1
16 Others 34 1.0
18 No health services or CAM received during the last 12 months 1,030 32.1
Table 3-1. CAM Provided/Prescribed by Physicians (n = 1,757) a).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

Product/Treatment Method N %
1 Prescribed Kampo medicines 162 9.2
2 Over-the-counter Kampo medicines 69 3.9
3 Dietary supplements 65 3.7
4 Physical therapy 55 3.1
5 Massage 53 3.0
6 Acupuncture/moxibustion 36 2.0
7 Dietary therapy 32 1.8
8 Yoga 20 1.1
9 Chiropractic 16 0.9
10 Heat therapy 15 0.9
11 Bone setting (seitai) 13 0.7
12 Hot spring therapy 13 0.7
13 Magnetic therapy 12 0.7
14 Music therapy 9 0.5
15 Qigong 4 0.2
16 Forest therapy 2 0.1
17 Spiritual therapy 2 0.1
18 Ayurveda 1 0.1
19 Fasting therapy 1 0.1
20 Homeopathy 1 0.1
23 Others 20 1.1
24 No use of CAM 1,346 76.6
Table 3-2. CAM not Provided/Advised by Physicians (n=3,208) a).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

Product/Treatment method n %
1 Dietary supplements 378 11.8
2 Massage 126 3.9
3 Over-the-counter Kampo 112 3.5
4 Physical therapy 97 3.0
5 Acupuncture/moxibustion 75 2.3
6 Yoga 70 2.2
7 Hot spring therapy 65 2.0
8 Chiropractic 30 0.9
9 Bone setting 27 0.8
10 Aromatherapy 24 0.7
11 Dietary therapy 16 0.5
12 Magnetic therapy 16 0.5
13 Music therapy 16 0.5
14 Herbal therapy 10 0.3
15 Heat therapy 10 0.3
16 Qigong 10 0.3
17 Forest therapy 9 0.3
18 Spiritual therapy 9 0.3
19 Fasting therapy 8 0.2
20 Ayurveda 3 0.1
21 Homeopathy 2 0.1
22 Others 8 0.2
23 No use of CAM 2,482 77.4
Table 4-1. Use of Kampo Medicines (n = 3,208).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

Used during the last 12 months Currently using
Treatment Name n % n %
1 Over-the-counter Kampo medicines a) 503 15.7 298 9.3
2 Prescribed Kampo medicines 494 15.4 275 8.6
3 No use of Kampo medicines (neither prescribed nor over-the-counter) 2,206 68.9 2,675 82.1
Table 4-2. Name of Kampo Formula Used during the last 12 months (n = 857) a).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

Name of Kampo formula n % in 857 % in 3,208
1 kakkonto 346 40.4 10.8
2 shoseiryuto 68 7.9 2.1
3 bakumondoto 50 5.8 1.6
4 shakuyakukanzoto 40 4.7 1.2
5 tokishakuyakusan 39 4.6 1.2
6 bofutsushosan 32 3.7 1.0
7 kamishoyosan 27 3.2 0.8
8 goreisan 22 2.6 0.7
9 keishibukuryogan 19 2.2 0.6
10 hochuekkito 17 2.0 0.5
11 rikkunshito 12 1.4 0.4
12 others 84 9.8 2.6
13 do not know/do not remember 299 34.9 9.3
Table 5-1. Use State and Use Frequency of CAM for Self-care a).

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

n % Average 3-month
use frequency (times)
1 Bath salt 828 25.8 28.0
2 Walking 812 25.3 22.4
3 Electric massage 195 6.1 12.3
4 Hot spring therapy 193 6.0 5.2
5 Yoga 137 4.3 10.7
6 Relaxation 95 3.0 4.1
7 Other health devices 78 2.4 17.8
8 Aromatherapy 61 1.9 11.6
9 Music therapy 50 1.6 26.7
10 Meditation 31 1.0 9.0
11 Forest therapy 28 0.9 3.3
12 Magnetic therapy 27 0.8 18.1
13 Praying for health 22 0.7 36.2
14 Qigong 17 0.5 6.6
15 Taijiquan 12 0.4 16.5
16 Art therapy 9 0.3 10.3
17 Heat therapy 9 0.3 8.0
18 Participation in healing associations 3 0.1 4.0
19 Others 30 0.9
20 None 1,672 52.1
Table 5-2. Participant’s Reasons for Using CAM.

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

No. of Use Acute illness
(less than 1 month)
Long-term illness
(1 month or more)
For health
improvement
Others
n N % n % N % n %
1 Bath salt 828 8 1.0 9 1.1 684 82.0 127 15.3
2 Walking 812 2 0.2 23 2.8 741 91.3 46 5.7
3 Electrical massage equipment 195 13 6.7 11 5.6 161 82.6 10 5.1
4 Hot spring therapy 193 1 0.5 10 5.2 164 85.0 18 9.3
5 Yoga 137 1 0.7 6 4.4 122 89.1 8 5.8
6 Relaxation 95 3 3.2 6 6.3 83 87.4 3 3.2
7 Other health devices 78 2 2.6 6 7.7 66 84.6 4 5.1
8 Aromatherapy 61 2 3.3 3 4.9 49 80.3 7 11.5
9 Music therapy 50 2 4.0 4 8.0 39 78.0 5 10.0
10 Meditation equipment 31 2 6.5 2 6.5 24 77.4 3 9.7
11 Forest therapy 28 1 3.6 2 7.1 22 78.6 3 10.7
12 Magnetic therapy 27 0 0.0 6 22.2 20 74.1 1 3.7
13 Praying for health 22 0 0.0 4 18.2 16 72.7 2 9.1
14 Qigong 17 0 0.0 2 11.8 15 88.2 0 0.0
15 Taijiquan 12 0 0.0 1 8.3 9 75.0 2 16.7
16 Art therapy 9 0 0.0 2 22.2 6 66.7 1 11.1
17 Heat therapy 9 1 11.1 5 55.6 3 33.3 0 0.0
18 Participation in healing associations 3 0 0.0 1 33.3 2 66.7 0 0.0
Table 5-3. Degree of Perceived Helpfulness of CAM Use.

From: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japan: A Cross-sectional Internet Survey Using the Japanese Version of the International Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire

Very helpful Somewhat helpful Not helpful Do not Know
n n % n % n % n %
1 Bath salt 828 104 12.6 533 64.4 81 9.8 110 13.3
2 Walking 812 192 23.6 534 65.8 33 4.1 53 6.5
3 Electrical massage equipment 195 32 16.4 145 74.4 12 6.2 6 3.1
4 Hot spring therapy 193 42 21.8 123 63.7 3 1.6 25 13.0
5 Yoga 137 29 21.2 95 69.3 10 7.3 3 2.2
6 Relaxation 95 21 22.1 63 66.3 9 9.5 2 2.1
7 Other health devices 78 14 17.9 51 65.4 4 5.1 9 11.5
8 Aromatherapy 61 17 27.9 40 65.6 2 3.3 2 3.3
9 Music therapy 50 18 36.0 31 62.0 0 0.0 1 2.0
10 Meditation 31 7 22.6 21 67.7 0 0.0 3 9.7
11 Forest therapy 28 8 28.6 15 53.6 3 10.7 2 7.1
12 Magnetic therapy 27 1 3.7 20 74.1 3 11.1 3 11.1
13 Praying for health 22 10 45.5 6 27.3 2 9.1 4 18.2
14 Qigong 17 5 29.4 9 52.9 3 17.6 0 0.0
15 Taijiquan 12 4 33.3 8 66.7 0 0.0 0 0.0
16 Art therapy 9 3 33.3 4 44.4 2 22.2 0 0.0
17 Heat therapy 9 2 22.2 6 66.7 1 11.1 0 0.0
18 Participation in healing associations 3 0 0.0 2 66.7 1 33.3 0 0.0
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