BACKGROUND: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing throughout the Western world, particularly by patients with chronic disease. In 1999, 20% of the United Kingdom population reported that they had used CAM in the preceding 12 months. OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate the use of CAM by outpatients with general dermatologic conditions in 3 United Kingdom cities: Leeds (North England), and Cardiff and Swansea (South Wales). METHODS: Independently constructed, anonymous, self-directed questionnaires were designed and distributed to 400 consecutive outpatients with dermatologic conditions in Leeds and 637 consecutive outpatients with dermatologic conditions in Cardiff and Swansea. RESULTS: In Leeds 302/400 questionnaires were fully completed with 39% patients having used CAM. In South Wales 415/637 questionnaires were fully completed with 34% having used CAM. Of these, 45% of patients in Leeds and 50% of patients in South Wales were using CAM to treat their dermatologic condition. The most popular treatments in Leeds, Cardiff, and Swansea were herbal medicine and homeopathy. LIMITATIONS: These results were obtained from outpatients with dermatologic conditions in the United Kingdom and may not be applicable to other populations. CONCLUSIONS: More than one third of outpatients with general dermatologic conditions in two geographically distant regions are using CAM. More than 45% of these patients used CAM to treat their dermatologic condition.
BACKGROUND: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing throughout the Western world, particularly by patients with chronic disease. In 1999, 20% of the United Kingdom population reported that they had used CAM in the preceding 12 months. OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate the use of CAM by outpatients with general dermatologic conditions in 3 United Kingdom cities: Leeds (North England), and Cardiff and Swansea (South Wales). METHODS: Independently constructed, anonymous, self-directed questionnaires were designed and distributed to 400 consecutive outpatients with dermatologic conditions in Leeds and 637 consecutive outpatients with dermatologic conditions in Cardiff and Swansea. RESULTS: In Leeds 302/400 questionnaires were fully completed with 39% patients having used CAM. In South Wales 415/637 questionnaires were fully completed with 34% having used CAM. Of these, 45% of patients in Leeds and 50% of patients in South Wales were using CAM to treat their dermatologic condition. The most popular treatments in Leeds, Cardiff, and Swansea were herbal medicine and homeopathy. LIMITATIONS: These results were obtained from outpatients with dermatologic conditions in the United Kingdom and may not be applicable to other populations. CONCLUSIONS: More than one third of outpatients with general dermatologic conditions in two geographically distant regions are using CAM. More than 45% of these patients used CAM to treat their dermatologic condition.
Authors: Max Haidvogl; David S Riley; Marianne Heger; Sara Brien; Miek Jong; Michael Fischer; George T Lewith; Gerard Jansen; André E Thurneysen Journal: BMC Complement Altern Med Date: 2007-03-02 Impact factor: 3.659
Authors: Andrew Croaker; Graham J King; John H Pyne; Shailendra Anoopkumar-Dukie; Lei Liu Journal: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med Date: 2017-01-26 Impact factor: 2.629