The Incidence of self-prescribed oral complementary and alternative medicine use by patients with gastrointestinal diseases.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the incidence of oral complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage by gastroenterology patients at a single university center and compare against controls.


BACKGROUND
The public awareness and usage of CAM have increased. The use of CAM has been described in patients with functional bowel disorders; however, their role in patients with gastrointestinal disease is less clear.


METHODS
Patients attending luminal gastroenterology clinics and customers at local supermarkets completed a 30-point, structured questionnaire assessing their use of CAM.


RESULTS
A total of 1,409 subjects were recruited. The incidence of CAM use was 49.5% for inflammatory bowel disease, 50.9% for irritable bowel syndrome, 20% for general gastrointestinal diseases, and 27% for controls. Pearson's chi(2) tests showed that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or irritable bowel syndrome were more likely to use CAM than controls (P < 0.001). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that females were more likely to take CAM than men (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The percentage of CAM users among patients with IBD is similar to those with a functional diagnosis. Increasing numbers of IBD patients are using CAM in addition to conventional therapy. Awareness of this may prevent adverse CAM and conventional drug interactions.
Kong
San Choon
SC
Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield S10 2JF, UK.
Hurlstone
David P
DP
Pocock
Charlotte Y
CY
Walkington
Lucy A
LA
Farquharson
Nina R
NR
Bramble
Michael G
MG
McAlindon
Mark E
ME
Sanders
David S
DS
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D014815:Vitamins