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How frequently do patients with multiple sclerosis use complementary and alternative medicine?
Annett Apel1, Brigitte Greim, Uwe K Zettl
1University of Rostock, Department of Neurology, Gehlsheimer Str. 20, 18147 Rostock, Germany. annett.apel@med.uni-rostock.de
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
|December 13, 2005
Summary
Most multiple sclerosis (MS) patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), with many reporting symptom improvement. Further research is needed to understand patient motivations and the objective effects of CAM in MS care.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Integrative Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease impacting quality of life.
- Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is prevalent across various patient populations.
- Understanding CAM utilization in MS is crucial for comprehensive patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
- To characterize the types of CAM therapies utilized by MS patients.
- To explore sociodemographic and disease-related factors associated with CAM use in MS.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study design was employed.
- Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 154 patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Data collected included sociodemographic variables, disease characteristics, and CAM usage patterns, supplemented by neurological examination findings.
Main Results:
- Over 61% of MS patients reported current use of CAM, predominantly complementary therapies (90.3%).
- CAM users were more severely affected by MS than non-users; no sociodemographic differences were observed.
- A majority (65.8%) of CAM users reported symptom improvement, with minimal side effects (4.5%).
Conclusions:
- A significant portion of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients utilize complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
- Current evidence on CAM efficacy in MS is limited, necessitating further investigation.
- Future research should focus on patient motivations and objective outcomes of CAM therapies in MS.