Use of complementary and alternative medicine by older adults – a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

BackgroundVery little is known about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by older adults in Germany. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of CAM and other health promoting substances (e.g., herbal teas) by older adults of at least 70 years of age.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among persons of ≥70 years from metropolitan Berlin and rural parts of Brandenburg, Germany. Recorded were: demographics, current use of CAM, medical diagnoses, users’ opinions and preferences.ResultsA total of 400 older adults, living as ‘self-reliant’ (n = 154), ‘home care service user’ (n = 97), or ‘in nursing home’ (n = 149), and with the legal status ‘without guardian’ (n = 355) or ‘with guardian’ (n = 45) were included (mean age 81.8 ± 7.4 years, 78.5% female). Any type of CAM used 61.3% of respondents (dietary supplements 35.5%, herbal medicines 33.3%, and external preparations 26.8%); 3.0% used drug-interaction causing preparations. Usage was based on recommendations (total 30.3%; in 20.0% by friends or family and 10.4% by pharmacists), own initiative (27.3%), and doctors’ prescription (25.8%). Participants with legal guardian took almost solely prescribed dietary supplements. Of the others, only half (58.7%) informed their general practitioner (GP) of their CAM use. Participants expected significant (44.9%) or moderate (37.1%) improvement; half of them perceived a good effect (58.7%) and two-thirds (64.9%) generally preferred a combination of CAM and conventional medicine. More than half (57.9%) stated that they could neither assess whether their CAM preparations have side effects, nor assess what the side effects might be. Strongest predictors for CAM use were two treatment preferences (vs. ‘conventional only’: ‘CAM only’, OR = 3.98, p = 0.0042 and ‘CAM + conventional’, 3.02, 0.0028) and the type of health insurance (‘statutory’ vs. ‘private’, 3.57, 0.0356); against CAM use two subjective assessments predicted (vs. ‘CAM causes no harm’: ‘CAM causes harmful drug interactions’, 0.25, 0.0536 and ‘I cannot assess side effects’, 0.28, 0.0010).ConclusionOlder German adults frequently use CAM. They perceived it as an effective complement to conventional medicine, but are not sufficiently informed about risks and benefits.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Methods Among Elderly People Living in Nursing Homes

“…In these studies, the percentage of CAM usage varies between 35.3% and 86.3% [10][11][12][13][14][15] . In studies carried out on elderly individuals, the percentage of CAM usage varies between 27.7% and 88% 8,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] . These methods have been preferred mostly by elderly who are well-educated 3,16,19 have a high socio-economical status 19,20 , are female 17,19,27,28 , and are younger elderly 16 .…”

“…In this study, we have observed that the elderly have used non-herbal supplements such as honey, vitamins (vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin A; respectively), fish oil, royal jelly, magnesium, omega 3-6-9, and coenzyme Q10 at rates differing between 7% and 31.7%. Previous studies showed that elderly individuals mostly use vitamin E 18,20 , Ca 20,26 , magnesium 26 , iron 26 , vitamin C 18,20 , vitamin D 3 26 , B 12 26 , folic acid 26 , chondroitin sulphate 18 and minerals 18 . Our study results are in line with the literature.…”

“…Schnabel et al 26 and King and Pettigrew 31 also stated that elderly individuals used these methods because they were advised to do so by friends-family, doctors, pharmacists, medical or nonmedical practitioners, and the TV-radio or they chose to do so on their own. Many patients emphasize that they want to get involved in the diagnosis, planning and caring processes regarding their illness.…”

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“…[15,16] One such study conducted in Texas in breast and other gynecological cancer patients showed the use of CAM to be 48% irrespective of the stage of malignancy while another study on geriatric patients conducted in Germany puts it to be 61.3%. [17,18] Further, the use of CAM therapy in specific groups has been studied such as Hypertensive in South African countries where the utilization was around 51.9-63%. [19] Moreover, Indian population living in South Africa was using CAM in the range of 42.8-48.1%.…”

Use of Alternative and Complementary Medicine by Old Italians Adults: The Determinant of Choice

“…In the last few years the number of people that addresses to unconventional therapies and practices is growing. This adherence to alternative medicine is unmistakable marks of escape from the orthodox scientific medicine, a sign of dispute, dissatisfaction, towards to a medical practice that doesn't respect or forget, indeed, the person's and the individual's overall structure [11]. The need for safety and the health's expectations, together with the aspiration of a global well-being, lead to an incessant demand of physical and mental wellness.…”