Use of complementary and alternative medicine in a large sample of anxiety patients.
OBJECTIVE
To examine a large sample of patients with anxiety and the association between types of complementary and alternative treatments that were used, demographic variables, diagnostic categories, and treatment outcomes.


METHODS
Cross-sectional and longitudinal survey during the Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) study that assessed this intervention against the Usual Care in a sample of patients with anxiety recruited from primary care. Interviewer-administered questionnaires via a centralized telephone survey by blinded assessment raters. The interviews were done at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months of the study. A total of 1004 adults ages 18-75 who met DSM-IV criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We assessed medication/herbal use, the use of any alternative therapies, and combined Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use.


RESULTS
We found an extensive (43%) use of a variety of CAM treatments that is consistent with previous study results in populations with anxiety. Only a few significant demographic or interventional characteristics of CAM users were found. Users most often had a diagnosis of GAD, were older, more educated, and had two or more chronic medical conditions. CAM users who had a 50% or more drop in anxiety scores over 18 months were less likely to report continued use of alternative therapies.


CONCLUSIONS
The study confirms the importance of awareness of CAM use in this population for possible interference with traditional first-line treatments of these disorders, but also for finding the best integrative use for patients who require multiple treatment modalities.
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. abystritsky@mednet.ucla.edu
Alexander
A
Bystritsky
Sarit
S
Hovav
Cathy
C
Sherbourne
Murray B
MB
Stein
Raphael D
RD
Rose
Laura
L
Campbell-Sills
Daniela
D
Golinelli
Greer
G
Sullivan
Michelle G
MG
Craske
Peter P
PP
Roy-Byrne
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult