Objective:

Examine the demographics and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) utilization characteristics of U.S. adults with and without a history of epilepsy or seizures.

Background:

Adults with epilepsy or seizures struggle with medication adherence, treatment resistance, and comorbidities, leading many to seek CAM usage.

Design/Methods:

Using data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we analyzed respondents who self-reported a history of epilepsy or seizures. CAM modalities assessed included art therapy, music therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, naturopathy, guided imagery, meditation, and yoga, with sub-items capturing use for pain, general health, or wellness. Chi-square tests compared CAM prevalence by epilepsy status. Survey-weighted logistic regressions estimated unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for CAM use.

Results:

Out of a sample of 6,426 adults, 79 individuals reported a history of epilepsy or seizures (weighted n = 755,440). Compared with adults without epilepsy, adults with epilepsy were more likely to be female (62.5% vs. 49.1%) and to report depression (30.5% vs. 9.4%), anxiety (27.5% vs. 9.2%), and frequent sleep disturbance. CAM utilization patterns differed significantly by epilepsy status; adults with epilepsy reported greater use of massage for general wellness (3.5% vs. 1.1%, p=0.043), chiropractic care for pain (2.0% vs. 0.3%, p=0.007), and music therapy (4.4% vs. 0.6%, p=0.001). Conversely, yoga breathing practices were less common among epilepsy respondents (2.6% vs. 9.6%, p<0.001). In regression analyses, epilepsy was associated with extremely high odds of reporting naturopathy (aOR ~11 million, p<0.001) and acupuncture (aOR ~7.5 million, p<0.001).

Conclusions:

Adults with epilepsy or seizures have a higher burden of mental health comorbidities and report greater engagement in massage, chiropractic for pain, and music therapy. These findings highlight the need for clinicians to initiate discussions about CAM use with patients to ensure safe and evidence-informed care.