Wellness or Medicine? Use and Perception of Ayurveda in Germany: Data from an Online-representative Cross-sectional Study

Overview

Journal Front Med (Lausanne)

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2024 Jun 6

PMID 38841569

Authors

Julia K Schiele

Michael Jeitler

Andreas Michalsen

Elmar Stapelfeldt

Miriam Ortiz

Mike Sigl

Benno Brinkhaus

Manfred Wischnewsky

Christian S Kessler

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Ayurveda, South Asia's largest and most relevant system of Traditional Medicine, holds a legal status akin to conventional Western medicine in India and elsewhere. There is an almost complete lack of data on the use of Ayurveda in Germany. The aim of this study was to investigate Ayurveda's utilization patterns, entry points, and factors influencing its use and the perception of Ayurveda among the German population.

Methods: Basis of this manuscript was an online-representative survey which involved 4,065 participants aged 18-75 about the use and acceptance of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) in Germany. The survey was conducted online using Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) in 2022. The dataset was analyzed descriptively and inferentially.

Results: Altogether 9.3% ( = 377) of all survey participants ( = 4,065) had already used Ayurveda somehow, either more often (1.7%) or at least once in a lifetime (7.6%). Responders associated Ayurveda primarily with Indian Medicine (27.7%) and wellness (18%). Commonly used Ayurvedic services included non-medical treatments at wellness resorts/spas (48.3%), in outpatient practices (27.1%), and hotels (23.6%). 30.2% of the participants believe in Ayurveda's therapeutic potential. 76.7% of Ayurveda users find healthy nutrition important or very important. Nine predictors were found to classify Ayurveda users vs. non-users with spirituality and belief in Ayurveda's therapeutic efficacy as the most relevant ones. Ayurveda seems to be primarily used by well-educated and female individuals, often from higher-income groups and with a rather modern social milieu-orientation.

Conclusion: Study results suggest that about every tenth German citizen has used Ayurveda in the past and about one third believes in its therapeutic potential. Because Ayurvedic therapies are often not evidence-based, there is an urgent need to perform high quality randomized controlled trials to investigate potential effects and safety of Ayurveda and how evidence-based Ayurveda treatments can be integrated into the German healthcare system.

Citing Articles

Attitudes toward healthy nutrition in Germany - results from an online-representative cross-sectional survey.

Hanslian E, Schiele J, Jeitler M, Michalsen A, Wischnewsky M, Storz M Front Nutr. 2025; 11:1480980.

PMID: 39897537 PMC: 11783846. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1480980.

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