title: Complementary medicine use in children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the use of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) in children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  After validation of a questionnaire and completion of a pilot survey, children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease were enrolled in three centers of pediatric gastroenterology (Boston, Detroit, and London).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred eight questionnaires were completed in total (Boston, 120; Detroit, 37; London, 51). Ages ranged from 3.8 to 23.0 yr, 58% were male, 57% had Crohn's disease, and 35% had ulcerative colitis. The frequency of CAM use was 41%. The most common CAMs were megavitamin therapy (19%), dietary supplements (17%), and herbal medicine (14%). Parental CAM use and the number of adverse effects from conventional medicines were predictors of CAM use (odds ratio = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.2-3.1, p = 0.02; odds ratio = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.2-1.5, p < 0.001, respectively). The most important reasons respondents gave for using CAM were side effects from prescribed medicines, prescribed medicines not working as well as they had hoped, and hoping for a cure. Fifty-nine percent of respondents not taking CAM were interested in learning more about it.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our survey over 40% of children with chronic inflammatory bowel disease used complementary medicine in addition to conventional therapies. Parental CAM use and number of adverse effects from conventional therapies were the only independent predictors of CAM use. Some complementary therapies have potential for adverse effects and for drug interactions with conventional treatments. Physicians should take a thorough history of CAM use in children with chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
authors.affiliation: Center for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heuschkel
authors.forename: Nadeem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Afzal
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wuerth
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zurakowski
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leichtner
authors.forename: Kathi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kemper
authors.forename: Vasundhara
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tolia
authors.forename: Athos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bousvaros
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011336:Probability; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome