Observed Changes in Risk during Naturopathic Treatment of Hypertension

Abstract

Few outcome assessments are published from complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices. We aimed to describe patient and practice characteristics of ND care for hypertension (HTN), quantify changes in blood pressure (BP), and evaluate the proportion achieving control of HTN during care. A retrospective, observational study of ND practice in HTN was performed in an outpatient clinic in WA State. Eighty-five charts were abstracted for the final analysis. At initiation of care, the mean patient age was 61 years, with 51% having stage 2 HTN, despite common use of anti-hypertensive medications (47%). Patients with both stage 1 and stage 2 HTN appeared to improve during care, with stage 2 patients achieving mean reductions of −26 mmHg (P < .0001) and −11 mmHg (P < .0001) in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP), respectively. The proportion of patients achieving control (<140/90 mmHg) in both SBP and DBP was increased significantly from 14 to 44% (P < .033), although the statistical significance was not maintained upon correction for multiple comparisons. BP appears to improve during ND care for HTN, in a high-risk population. Randomized trials are warranted.

Effects of Oral Glutathione Supplementation on Systemic Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Human Volunteers

“…30 Although the clinical use of GSH and GSH precursors is rather limited to the use of N-acetylcysteine in acetaminophen toxicity, as a mucolytic in respiratory disease, and experimentally in the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy, this study has important clinical implications for consumers and for providers in nonallopathic disciplines, such as complementary and alternative medicine, in which oral nutritional supplementation is commonplace. [31][32][33][34][35] The results of this study determined that short-term, oral intake of GSH does not improve glutathione status, nor reduce markers of oxidative stress in healthy adults, and thus routine supplementation may not offer health benefits in the absence of disease or oxidative challenge.…”

Estimated Effects of Whole-system Naturopathic Medicine in Select Chronic Disease Conditions: A Systematic Review

“…Results from hand searching added two additional studies: a more recently published randomized controlled trial (RCT) & companion cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). In total, 15 studies of whole practice naturopathic medicine were included [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Figure 1 shows the literature flowchart.…”

“…All studies were in chronic disease conditions; six evaluated outcomes in diabetes or cardiovascular disease [23][24][25]28,33,37], five in musculoskeletal or pain conditions [26,[30][31][32]34], and four studies were in other conditions [27,29,35,36]. Summaries of the included studies are in …”

“…The proportion of patients with resolution of hypertension, defined as BP less than <140/90 mmHg, was 33% (P<0.033) [25].…”

“…Cardiometabolic disease (Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome): Cardiometabolic disease represents one of the leading public health concerns in the United States, and the majority of studies of whole practice naturopathic medicine focused on these conditions. Bradley et al conducted three observational studies in diabetes and one in hypertension [24,25,28,33] and Seely et al conducted a pragmatic RCT and economic evaluation [23,37]. In the first retrospective evaluation of diabetes care, glycemic control and other risk factors improved during receipt of naturopathic care [33].…”