By Melissa Schorr

NEW YORK, Mar 16 (Reuters Health) - People with anxiety or depression are more likely to use complementary or alternative medicine than to go see a traditional mental health professional, according to results of a nationwide survey conducted by Harvard researchers.

The investigators found that more than half of people who reported suffering from anxiety attacks or severe depression used some form of alternative medicine as treatment during the past year, while only about one-third went to see a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or physician.

"It's quite amazing how many people are using this stuff," lead author Dr. Ronald C. Kessler, a professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, told Reuters Health. "I think it's clear that people's faith in institutions is going down--alternative therapy capitalizes on that."

The survey, published in the February issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, was funded in part by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a branch of the National Institutes of Health.

In the survey, more than 2,000 people were asked during a telephone interview to report on their health status and their use of various treatments. Around 7% of the respondents reported having suffered from severe depression in the previous year, while 9% reported having anxiety attacks.

Depression and anxiety were the most common conditions that led people to try alternative therapies, with the exception of chronic back or neck pain, the authors note.

More than half of the respondents suffering from these two common mental ailments reported using some kind of alternative medicine during the last year. The therapies spanned a wide variety of some 24 treatments including herbs, megavitamins, special diets, massages, acupuncture, aromatherapy, yoga and even laughter therapy.

The two most popular treatments, though, were relaxation techniques and spiritual healing, such as group prayer. Relaxation was used by about one in five people, and spiritual healing was used by nearly 10%.

The majority of this alternative therapy was self-administered--only around 20% of the respondents suffering from anxiety or depression reported visiting a complementary medicine specialist.

But those who were using alternative medicine were highly likely to also see a traditional healthcare provider. Around two thirds of those with depression and anxiety who saw a conventional mental health professional also reported using alternative medicine.

"The kind of people who use alternative medicine have not rejected medicine, they also go to doctors and they pray," Kessler said. "They do all 10 things."

In light of these findings, it is crucial that traditional mental healthcare providers ask their patients if they are using complementary medicine, the researchers conclude. "It should be a requirement for every doctor giving drug therapy to patients to query that patient about their use of alternative therapies," Kessler said.

Potential risks, such as interactions between certain herbal remedies and prescribed medications, have recently been reported. For example, mixing St. John's wort--an herb used for depression--and depression medications like Prozac can have potentially dangerous side effects such as nausea and confusion.

Overall, patients perceived their use of alternative therapies in a positive light, rating the care of traditional mental health providers about as helpful as the alternative therapies.

Around 58% of those with severe depression said seeing a therapist was "very helpful," while 52% said their use of complementary medicine was "very helpful."

Similarly, 67% of those reporting anxiety attacks rated the use of traditional mental health therapies as "very helpful," while 60% rated their alternative therapies that way.

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• Alternative Medicine
• Anxiety
• Depression