The role of complementary and alternative medicine

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Alternative medicine (AM) is of growing interest to the general public. The purpose of this medicine is to determine the frequency with which alternative medicine is employed in a pediatric population that also uses conventional medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine is defined as "diagnosis, treatment and/or prevention which complements mainstream medicine by contributing to a common whole, by satisfying a demand not met by orthodoxy or by diversifying the conceptual frameworks of medicine." It comprises a confusingly large and heterogeneous array of techniques, with both therapeutic and diagnostic approaches.

The use of Alternative Medicine by children

Children who used AM differed significantly from those who only used conventional medicine in that they were older than the nonusers, their mothers were better educated, and their parents also tended to use AM. The findings indicate that AM is an aspect of child health care that no longer can be ignored. Being aware of these practices will enable physicians to discuss alternative therapies with parents in order to ensure the continuity of essential conventional treatments.

Use of Alternative Medicine by Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer

New use of alternative medicine after surgery for breast cancer was common (reported by 28.1 percent of the women); such use was not associated with choices about standard medical therapies after we controlled for clinical and sociodemographic variables. A total of 10.6 percent of the women had used alternative medicine before they were given a diagnosis of breast cancer. Women who initiated the use of alternative medicine after surgery reported a worse quality of life than women who never used alternative medicine. Mental health scores were similar at base line among women who decided to use alternative medicine and those who did not, but three months after surgery the use of alternative medicine was independently associated with depression, fear of recurrence of cancer, lower scores for mental health and sexual satisfaction, and more physical symptoms as well as symptoms of greater intensity. All groups of women reported improving quality of life one year after surgery.

Reviews by Mainstream Physicians

Studies suggest that between 30% and 50% of the adult population in industrialized nations use some form of complementary and/or alternative medicine (CAM) to prevent or treat a variety of health-related problems.

Across surveys, acupuncture had the highest rate of physician referral (43%) among the 5 CAM therapies, followed by chiropractic (40%) and massage (21%). Rates of CAM practice by conventional physicians varied from a low of 9% for homeopathy to a high of 19% for chiropractic and massage therapy. Approximately half of the surveyed physicians believed in the efficacy of acupuncture (51%), chiropractic (53%), and massage (48%), while fewer believed in the value of homeopathy (26%) and herbal approaches (13%).