Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) has been widely used in the world, but limited data are available on the use of CAM in depression. This study aimed to evaluate the use of CAM and its associated factors in depression. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 depressed patients referred to the Yasuj Neurology and Psychiatric Clinic, southern Iran, between 2019 and 2020. A valid semistructured international questionnaire was used; amongst the participants, 230 (77%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 41.47 ± 12.2 years and the mean duration of the disease was 4.49 ± 4.88 years. The prevalence of CAM use was 37.6% among the patients. The results showed a significant difference between the CAM users and nonusers regarding the disease duration ( p = 0.045 ) and body mass index ( p = 0.007 ). Moreover, the results of logistic regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between CAM use and female gender, disease duration, overweight, obesity, and self-employment ( p = 0.039 , p = 0.028 , p = 0.029 , p = 0.048 , and p = 0.044 , resp.). The most frequently used type of CAM was herbal medicine (97.35%) followed by pray therapy (23.89%). Additionally, the most widely used herbs were borage (77%), chamomile (46.9%), and lavender (21.2%). Furthermore, 62.8% of the patients reported that their main reason for using CAM was its effectiveness. The majority of the patients (77%) had not consulted their physicians prior to utilization of CAM therapies. Herbal medicine was the most common form of CAM in depression, with a high satisfaction level. Thus, it is necessary to increase physicians’ awareness in different fields of CAM.

BackgroundLow back pain (LBP) is one of the most prevalent diseases in the developed and developing countries, which imposes high socioeconomic burden on both the individual and the community. There are limited studies that explain the clinically meaningful impact of chiropractic modality in chronic LBP.MethodThis is a quasi-experimental study. Participants were patients who had referred to Shiraz private chiropractic clinics with more than three month chronic LBP and had no pathologic abnormalities. Data were collected in two stages, baseline visit and 8 weeks after treatment. The effect of intervention measured throughout three questionnaire including Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and self-assessment Global Rating of Change (GRC) questionnaires.Result141 patients analyzed, the mean age of participants was 40.18 ± 10.42 years of old and 40 (28.4%) were male. The mean duration of LBP was 56.73 ± 45.11 months. Before and after intervention, based on RMDQ and NRS data, indicated that the mean difference ± Standard Deviation was 5.54 ± 4.95 and 2.44 ± 1.64 the statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) and (P < 0.001) among all demographic and clinical characteristic variables, except job status. The mean ± SD of GRC was 56.13 ± 33.03%. Based on the RMDQ cut-off point, 88 participants (62%; 95% CI: 50–70) have been affected by chiropractic with a clinically meaningful effect. In addition, the chiropractic may be an effective therapeutic modality in treating patients with mild, moderate, or even severe MRI findings.ConclusionComplementary chiropractic treatment amongst chronic LBP patients may be an appropriate adjuvant to conventional treatments to improve disability and pain intensity reduction in both genders.