title: Complementary and alternative medicine use in veterans with multiple sclerosis: Prevalence and demographic associations.
abstract: The present study explored complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in veterans with multiple sclerosis (MS). We administered self-report questionnaires to 451 veterans who received healthcare from Veterans Health Administration facilities. CAM use among veterans with MS was widespread; 37% of respondents reported current or past use. Roughly 33% of CAM users reported using multiple interventions, and 40% of respondents desired interventions that they were not already using. Logistic regression suggested that CAM use was more likely among participants with graduate-level education, poor self-reported health over the past year, and a progressive relapsing MS subtype. Participants who used traditional medical services were also more likely to use CAM, which suggests that CAM services are used in addition to, as opposed to in place of, traditional services. As others have proposed, these results suggest that care providers who work with persons with MS would be well served to understand, routinely screen for, and make use of CAM when appropriate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Health Care System (PSHCS), Health Services Research and Development Service, Seattle, WA 98108, USA.
authors.forename: Duncan G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Aaron P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Rhonda M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hatzakis
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodriquez
authors.forename: Jodie K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Haselkorn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003710:Demography; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans