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Published on: June 4, 2017
Alternative medicine in allergies - prevalence, patterns of use, and costs
T Schäfer1, A Riehle, H-E Wichmann
1Department of Social Medicine, Medical University Lübeck, Germany.
Background:
There is evidence that the use of alternative medicine (AM) for allergies has increased. However, little is known from population-based studies about what determines its use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the patterns of use of AM for allergies.
Methods:
A population-based nested case-control study was conducted in 2000-01 using computer-assisted telephone interviews. Three hundred and fifty-one adults participated (median age 46 years) with allergies including hay fever, asthma, atopic eczema, and food hypersensitivity. Information was obtained on demographics, prevalence, motivation, information, type of AM, provider, costs, willingness to pay, and subjective assessment of AM.
Results:
26.5% of participants used AM because of their allergies. Compared to nonusers, this group of users was significantly younger (median age 43 vs 47; p=0.004) and better educated (school education > 8 year vs
Conclusions:
AM is used widely for allergies by the general population and is associated with considerable costs. This has implications for the health care system and health policy.
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