title: Association between Disease-Specific Quality of Life and Complementary Medicine Use in Patients with Rhinitis in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.
abstract: Rhinitis is a common medical condition and can seriously impact patients' quality of life. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between disease-specific quality of life and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities among Taiwanese rhinitis patients. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at the outpatient department of otolaryngology in a medical center in Taiwan. Sociodemographic information, disease-specific quality of life (Chinese version of the 31-item Rhinosinusitis Outcome Measure, CRSOM-31), and previous use of CAM modalities for treatment of rhinitis of the patients were ascertained. Factor analysis was performed to reduce the number of CAM modalities. The resulting factors were analyzed for their association with CRSOM-31 score using linear regression analyses. Results from the multiple linear regression analyses indicated that Factor 1 (traditional Chinese medicine), Factor 2 (mind-body modalities), Factor 3 (manipulative-based modalities), female sex, and smoking were significantly associated with a worse disease-specific quality of life. In conclusion, various CAM modalities, female sex, and smoking were independent predictors of a worse disease-specific quality of life in Taiwanese patients with rhinitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 2 Minsheng Road, Dalin, Chiayi 62247, Taiwan ; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, No. 155, College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M7.
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No. 1650, Sec. 4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung City 40705, Taiwan ; School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo North Road, Taichung City 40201, Taiwan ; Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming Medical University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Linong Street, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kai-Li
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No. 1650, Sec. 4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung City 40705, Taiwan ; School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo North Road, Taichung City 40201, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Rong-San
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Natural Healing Sciences, Nanhua University, No. 55, Sec. 1, Nanhua Road, Dalin, Chiayi 62249, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Natural Healing Sciences, Nanhua University, No. 55, Sec. 1, Nanhua Road, Dalin, Chiayi 62249, Taiwan ; Department of Natural Biotechnology, Nanhua University, No. 55, Sec. 1, Nanhua Road, Dalin, Chiayi 62249, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yueh-Chiao
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yeh