Chen Baojiang, Brown Henry S, Douphrate David, Janak Jud, Gabriel Kelley Pettee, Peng Trent
Department of Biostatistics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health in Austin, Austin, Texas.
Department of Management, Policy and Community Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health in Austin, Austin, Texas.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2024 Sep 27. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2024.08.005.
This study aimed to examine the trends in the utilization and expenditure of chiropractic care in a representative sample of US adults, aged ≥18 years.
Serial cross-sectional data (2007-2016) from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) were examined. Weighted descriptive statistics were analyzed to obtain national estimates of chiropractic utilization and expenditure, and time-series linear regression was used to assess trends over time. Socio-demographic characteristics and musculoskeletal diagnoses associated with chiropractic use were also reported.
A statistically significantly increasing trend was observed for the number of adults receiving chiropractic care (p < .05), number of visits (p < .05) and utilization rate (P < .05) from 2007 to 2016. A similar trend was not found for chiropractic expenditure during this period (P > .05). The mean number of visits was 8.3 visits per year, with a mean expenditure of $86.94 USD per visit and $721.43 USD per person per year. Mean age of adult chiropractic users each year ranged between 48.6 and 51.2 years old, and users were primarily female (56.3%-60.4%), White persons (90.1%-93.5%), and privately insured (77.3%-82.8%). The most prevalent musculoskeletal diagnoses associated with chiropractic use were low back conditions (45.4%-58.1%), inflammatory/degenerative disc or joint conditions (21.2%-26.8%) and head and neck complaints (9.8%-13.7%).
The findings showed statistically significant increasing trends for the number of adult chiropractic users, the number of visits, and percent utilization of chiropractic care from 2007 to 2016. Conversely, we found a statistically null trend for the total annual expenditure on chiropractic care during the same time period. Findings from this analysis imply that, while chiropractic care appears to be growing, it may still be under-utilized, and more efforts should be devoted to ensuring sustained growth and a larger role in the management of musculoskeletal health.
本研究旨在调查美国18岁及以上成年人代表性样本中整脊治疗的使用情况和支出趋势。
研究分析了医疗支出面板调查（MEPS）的系列横断面数据（2007 - 2016年）。通过加权描述性统计分析得出整脊治疗使用情况和支出的全国估计值，并使用时间序列线性回归评估随时间的趋势。还报告了与整脊治疗使用相关的社会人口学特征和肌肉骨骼诊断情况。
2007年至2016年期间，接受整脊治疗的成年人数量（p <.05）、就诊次数（p <.05）和使用率（P <.05）呈现出统计学上显著的上升趋势。在此期间，整脊治疗支出未发现类似趋势（P >.05）。平均就诊次数为每年8.3次，每次就诊平均支出为86.94美元，每人每年平均支出为721.43美元。每年整脊治疗成年使用者的平均年龄在48.6岁至51.2岁之间，使用者主要为女性（56.3% - 60.4%）、白人（90.1% - 93.5%）且有私人保险（77.3% - 82.8%）。与整脊治疗使用相关的最常见肌肉骨骼诊断为下背部疾病（45.4% - 58.1%）、炎症/退行性椎间盘或关节疾病（21.2% - 26.8%）以及头部和颈部疾病（9.8% - 1,3.7%）。
研究结果显示，2007年至2016年期间，成年整脊治疗使用者数量、就诊次数和整脊治疗利用率呈现出统计学上显著的上升趋势。相反，同期整脊治疗的年度总支出在统计学上无明显趋势。该分析结果表明，虽然整脊治疗似乎在不断发展，但可能仍未得到充分利用，应加大力度确保其持续增长，并在肌肉骨骼健康管理中发挥更大作用。
