Complementary medicine use in a dementia clinic population.
Complementary medicine is frequently utilized for a variety of chronic health problems. We evaluated its use among patients attending a Canadian dementia clinic. Using a telephone survey, we inquired about the use of alternative therapy, including nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, and chelation therapy, for problems with cognition. Only 9.6% of our patient population used complementary medicine as a treatment for cognitive problems. A further 29% used complementary medicines for general health promotion. While higher use might have been anticipated because of the limited conventional therapies available, we did not find a high prevalence of consumption of alternative medicine for cognitive problems. Knowledge of the use of these therapies is still important and should not be neglected. A nonjudgmental inquiry into all therapies being used (for whatever reason) should be part of the assessment of any patient with suspected dementia.
Hogan
D B
DB
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Ebly
E M
EM
D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D003704:Dementia / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male