ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Family Medicine and Primary Care
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1474914
Use of complementary medicine and uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among US adults
Provisionally accepted
- Institute of General Practice and Interprofessional Care, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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Aim of this study was to investigate associations between use of complementary medicine (CM) and uptake of COVID-19 and flu vaccines in a nationally representative US sample. This secondary analysis of National Health Interview Survey 2022 data indicated that after accounting for potential confounders, the overall use of CM did not significantly predict uptake of COVID-19 (p = 0.745) or flu vaccination (p = 0.123). Vaccination uptake was lower for both COVID-19 and flu vaccines respectively, in individuals who visited chiropractors (AOR = 0.78, 95% CI [0.69, 0.89], p < 0.001; AOR = 0.71, 95% CI [0.63, 0.81], p < 0.001) and naturopaths (AOR = 0.66, 95% CI [0.51, 0.86], p = 0.002; AOR = 0.72, 95% CI [0.55, 0.94], p = 0.017). Uptake rates were higher for both COVID-19 and flu vaccines respectively, for those who visited an acupuncturist (AOR = 1.46, 95% CI [1.15, 1.86], p = 0.002; AOR = 1.32, 95% CI [1.08, 1.63], p = 0.008). Using mind-body medicine was associated with increased likelihood of COVID-19 vaccination uptake (AOR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.08, 1.42], p = 0.002), but not flu vaccine (p = 0.264).Visiting a massage therapist was not a significant predictor for COVID-19 and flu vaccines, respectively (p = 0.128, p = 0.232). Overall, the pattern of associations of CM use with COVID-19 vaccination uptake was comparable to that of flu vaccination uptake.
Keywords: COVID-19, flu, influenza, Vaccine, Complementary medicine, NHIS
Received: 02 Aug 2024; Accepted: 23 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cramer and Bilc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Holger Cramer, Institute of General Practice and Interprofessional Care, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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