Herbal product use in non-HIV and HIV-positive Hispanic patients.
OBJECTIVE
The primary endpoint of this study was to determine the prevalence of herbal product use by a sample of Mexican-American patients in the El Paso, TX region. Even though medicinal plants are popularly assumed to be a safe and natural alternative to conventional medications, some herbal products may pose a potential health risk to the consumer. Currently, there are few studies related to herbal use by Mexican Americans and none in HIV patients living on the U.S./México border.


METHODS
A prospective observational study was conducted in hospitals and clinics throughout the El Paso region area. A semistructured interview was conducted by trained bilingual interviewers. A 45-item bilingual questionnaire was used to collect the information.


RESULTS
A total of 439 non-HIV patients as well as 35 patients afflicted with HIV participated in the study. Seventy-nine percent (347/439) of non-HIV and 71% (25/35) of HIV patients reported using herbal products. The percentages of herbal use among the two groups did not show any statistically significant differences (p=0.29), and both groups reflected that herbal products are commonly used.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of herbal products was very common among non-HIV (79%) and HIV-positive (71%) Mexican-Americans patients in the El Paso region.
Rivera
José O
JO
University of Texas at El Paso/University of Texas at Austin Cooperative Pharmacy Program, USA. jrivera@utep.edu
González-Stuart
Armando
A
Ortiz
Melchor
M
Rodríguez
José C
JC
Anaya
Jaime P
JP
Meza
Armando
A
D000328:Adult; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology*; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas