title: Outcome of anthroposophic medication therapy in chronic disease: a 12-month prospective cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anthroposophic medications (AMED) are prescribed in 56 countries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study clinical outcomes in patients prescribed AMED for chronic disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  110 medical practices in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  665 consecutive outpatients aged 1-71 years, prescribed AMED for mental, respiratory, musculoskeletal, neurological, genitourinary, and other chronic diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Disease and Symptom Scores (physicians' and patients' assessment, 0-10) and SF-36.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the first six months, an average of 1.5 AMED per patient was used, in total 652 different AMED. Origin of AMED was mineral (8.0% of 652 AMED), botanical (39.0%), zoological (7.2%), chemically defined (13.0%), and mixed (33.0%). From baseline to six-month-follow-up, all outcomes improved significantly: Disease Score improved by mean 3.15 points (95% confidence interval 2.97-3.34, p < 0.001), Symptom Score by 2.43 points (2.23-2.63, p < 0.001), SF-36 Physical Component Summary by 3.04 points (2.16-3.91, p < 0.001), and SF-36 Mental Component Summary by 5.75 points (4.59-6.92, p < 0.001). All improvements were maintained at 12-month follow-up. Improvements were similar in adult men and women, in children, and in patients not using adjunctive therapies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Outpatients using AMED for chronic disease had long-term reduction of disease severity and improvement of quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Applied Epistemology and Medical Methodology, Böcklerstrasse 5, Freiburg, Germany. harald.hamre@ifaemm.de
authors.forename: Harald J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hamre
authors.forename: Claudia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Witt
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Glockmann
authors.forename: Renatus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.forename: Gunver S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Kienle
authors.forename: Stefan N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Willich
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiene