Utilization of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners in Later Life in Mainland China.

Aw Aw,Gong Gong,Yiengprugsawan Yiengprugsawan

doi:10.3390/geriatrics4030049

Abstract

Mainland China is one of the world’s most rapidly aging countries, and yet there is very limited literature on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) use in older individuals. This study aimed to determine the national and provincial prevalence of TCM practitioner utilization in later life and associated factors. We used World Health Organization China Study on Global Aging and Adult Health Wave 1 data to determine descriptive statistics of the study population of participants aged 50 years and over. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted controlling for sociodemographic and health factors. A total of 14% of participants utilized a TCM practitioner, and the prevalence of utilization varied significantly by locality. Utilization was more likely in participants living in rural areas [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 12.96; p < 0.001], Hubei (OR = 7.17; p < 0.001), or Shandong provinces (OR = 4.21; p < 0.001) and being diagnosed with chronic lung disease (OR = 1.97; p = 0.005). Hence, rurality, provincial influence, and chronic lung diseases are significant factors associated with TCM practitioner utilization among older individuals in China. These findings may inform policy for preservation and development of TCM nationally as well as its sustainability in an increasingly aging society.

Highlights

Healthy aging is an emerging agenda in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) as the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 80% of older individuals will be living in these countries by 2050 [1]
Utilizing the same data from WHO SAGE China 2007 survey, this study focused on later life and aimed to assess both the national and provincial specific prevalence of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner utilization as well as its associated chronic diseases, sociodemographic and health factors in mainland China
Our analysis focused on respondents aged 50 and over with reported information on using a TCM practitioner in last 12 months (n = 5981) as they are more likely to be nationally representative from which the study populations were drawn

Summary

Introduction

Healthy aging is an emerging agenda in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) as the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 80% of older individuals will be living in these countries by 2050 [1]. The aging population has placed greater strain on health services, especially for chronic diseases, necessitating the need for later-life health and medicine research [2]. In LMICs, traditional medicines and its practitioners are considered an important resource for population health by being perceived to be more affordable, accessible, and culturally acceptable to the communities when compared to modern medicine [3,4]. Several studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of traditional medicine utilization in older individuals of diverse ethnic backgrounds [3,5,6].

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