Nearly a quarter of Australian adults with a chronic illness regularly use complementary and alternative medicine. (Source: lamiel/iStockphoto)
Mix Almost as many people rely on alternative treatments as pharmaceuticals to treat arthritis and osteoporosis, a new study shows.
The first population-wide study investigating the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in people with chronic illnesses is published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.
“We looked at five conditions: asthma, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis and heart disease,” says co-author Professor Laurie Brown, of the Institute’s National Center for Social and Economic Modeling. . University of Canberra.
The study of more than 7,800 adults found that about 24 percent used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
CAM included in the study were vitamin or mineral supplements and natural or herbal remedies, including homeopathy.
Women over 60 who had osteoporosis and arthritis used CAM the most.
For example, Brown says, about 40 percent of people with osteoporosis used CAM products, either alone or with prescribed medications.
About 21 percent of people with osteoporosis used only alternative medications, while about 24 percent used pharmaceuticals only and 19 percent used them in combination.
For arthritis, 22 percent used only alternative medications, 22 percent used only pharmaceuticals, and 16 percent used a combination.
Consult your doctor
Brown says the results show that a significant number of people use CAM to treat chronic conditions, and often in combination with pharmaceuticals.
“If they’re using it in combination with prescribed medications, you need to be aware of potential interactions and side effects,” she says.
Dr. Vicki Kotsirilos of Australasian Association of Integrative Medicine in Melbourne urges patients to discuss their use of CAM with their doctor.
She says there is a large database of information on interactions between CAM and pharmaceuticals that doctors can use to advise their patients.
For example, Kotsirilos says, if someone is taking aspirin, they should be careful not to take white willow bark, which is a CAM often used to relieve arthritis pain.
Patients with seafood allergies should also be careful to avoid seafood-derived glucosamine sulfate.
Kotsirilos welcomes the new study, but says it has some limitations.
One of the problems, she says, is that some of the treatments classified as CAM are actually quite common and should not be described as alternative therapies.
“They bundled calcium, vitamin D, and fish oils that have been proven to work with other natural herbal remedies that may be less effective,” says Kotsirilos.
