Complementary and alternative medicine in US adults with diabetes: Reasons for use and perceived benefits

• Published in: Journal of diabetes 2018-04, Vol.10 (4), p.310-319
• Main Authors: Rhee, Taeho G., Westberg, Sarah M., Harris, Ila M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alternative medicine; Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); Diabetes; Health behavior; Health promotion; Wellness; Well‐being; 促进健康; 健康; 幸福; 糖尿病; 补充与替代医学(CAM)
• ISSN: 1753-0393; 1753-0407
• DOI: 10.1111/1753-0407.12607

Highlights Of US adults with diabetes, 26.2% reported using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the past year. Among those using CAM, 56.7% used CAM for both treatment and wellness, and 28.3% used CAM for wellness only. Only 15.0% used CAM for treatment only. Those who used CAM for both treatment and wellness had a higher likelihood of reporting “a better sense of control over their health” and “improved overall health and feeling better” when compared with those who used CAM for treatment only. Background Although complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly used, little is known about the reasons for CAM use (treatment, wellness, or both), or the self‐reported perceived benefits among US adults with diabetes. In this study we estimated prevalence rates of overall and specific types of CAM, as well as the perceived benefits of CAM, by reason for use among US diabetic adults. Methods Cross‐sectional data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, which represents non‐institutionalized adults with diabetes (n = 3386 unweighted), were used to estimate prevalence rates of CAM use by reason. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the odds of perceived benefits of CAM by reason for use after controlling for covariates. Results Of US diabetic adults, 26.2% reported using some form of CAM in the past year. Of these, 56.7% used CAM for both treatment and wellness, 28.3% used CAM for wellness only, and 15.0% used CAM for treatment only. Regardless of reasons for use, most commonly used CAM were herbal therapies (56.9%), followed by chiropractic (25.3%) and massage (20.2%). Those using CAM for a combination of both treatment and wellness had a higher likelihood of self‐reporting a “better sense of control over their health” (P = 0.011) and “improved overall health and feeling better” (P = 0.014) than those using CAM for treatment only. Conclusion Although CAM may be a promising approach to improving health‐related quality of life, future research should address efficacy and patient safety. 摘要 背景 虽然补充与替代医学(complementary and alternative medicine,CAM)正在被越来越多的人所使用, 但是美国成年糖尿病患者使用CAM的原因(治疗, 健康, 或两者都有)或自我报告的感知获益目前却尚未十分明确。在这项研究中我们按照使用原因进行分类, 评估了美国成年糖尿病患者总体以及特定类型的CAM流行率, 除此之外还评估了患者对CAM的感知获益情况。 方法 按照原因进行分类评估了使用CAM的流行率, 所使用的横断面数据来自于2012年全国健康访问调查, 亦即非住院的成年糖尿病患者(n = 3386, 未加权)的数据。使用多元logistic回归分析调查了校正协变量后按照使用原因分类的CAM感知获益优势比。 结果 在美国成年糖尿病患者中, 有26.2%的人报告了在过去的一年里使用了某种形式的CAM。在这些患者中, 有56.7%是因为治疗与健康的综合原因而使用CAM, 有28.3%只是因为健康原因