Characteristics of atopic dermatitis patients using complementary and alternative medicine: A literature review

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Due to the burden of the disease, some patients try complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

To identify characteristics associated with CAM use in children and adults with AD.

We conducted a literature review in accordance with the PRISMA international guidelines for literature reviews and meta-analyses. A systematic search was performed in the PubMed database. Qualitative and quantitative analyses using a χ² test were performed to compare characteristics between CAM users and non-users. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Out of 514 articles retrieved, 12 studies were included, giving a total of 2240 patients. Our statistical analysis identified an association between CAM use and rhino-conjunctivitis (p = 0.015 in children, p = 0.041 in adults), topical corticosteroid use (p = 0.042 in children, p = 0.008 in adults), and daily application of moisturizing cream (p = 0.002 in children, p < 0.001 in adults). Gender did not affect the decision to use CAM (p > 0.05). In studies, a higher number of affected eczema sites (p < 0.001), prior use of more than two conventional treatments (p = 0.047), and food avoidance diets (p = 0.016) were predictive of CAM use in children. In adults, a younger age (p < 0.05), higher education level (p = 0.043), and lower age at AD onset (p = 0.004) were related to CAM use.

To our knowledge, this is the first literature review focusing on socio-demographic and disease determinants related to CAM use among AD patients. The lack of homogeneity in measuring tools makes it difficult to compare and synthesize the studies.