AIM: This study investigated the prevalence and predictors of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a nationwide inception cohort of Danish women treated for early-stage breast cancer as well as differences in user patterns for individual types of CAM. METHODS: Use of CAM since the time of diagnosis was assessed 12-16 weeks post-surgery for the 3343 women (age 18-70) included in the study (response rate: 68%). Socio-demographic and clinical variables were obtained from national longitudinal registries. RESULTS: 40.1% of the women had used one or more types of CAM. Users were younger than non-users. Age adjusted analyses showed that CAM users were characterised by absence of comorbidity, higher educational level, higher personal income, higher social status, being divorced/separated and living in the metropolitan area of Copenhagen. Multivariate analyses revealed that chemotherapy was the only clinical and treatment-related predictor of CAM use, and that CAM users were more likely to be of normal weight and non-smokers. Of CAM users, 33.7% believed that CAM would have a positive influence upon their breast cancer. Different characteristics distinguished users of individual types of CAM. CONCLUSION: The results of this first nationwide study of utilisation of CAM in breast cancer show that CAM users are healthier and more likely to have higher socio-economic status than non-users. Different user patterns for individual types of CAM may be overlooked, when different types of CAM are treated as one homogeneous category.
AIM: This study investigated the prevalence and predictors of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a nationwide inception cohort of Danish women treated for early-stage breast cancer as well as differences in user patterns for individual types of CAM. METHODS: Use of CAM since the time of diagnosis was assessed 12-16 weeks post-surgery for the 3343 women (age 18-70) included in the study (response rate: 68%). Socio-demographic and clinical variables were obtained from national longitudinal registries. RESULTS: 40.1% of the women had used one or more types of CAM. Users were younger than non-users. Age adjusted analyses showed that CAM users were characterised by absence of comorbidity, higher educational level, higher personal income, higher social status, being divorced/separated and living in the metropolitan area of Copenhagen. Multivariate analyses revealed that chemotherapy was the only clinical and treatment-related predictor of CAM use, and that CAM users were more likely to be of normal weight and non-smokers. Of CAM users, 33.7% believed that CAM would have a positive influence upon their breast cancer. Different characteristics distinguished users of individual types of CAM. CONCLUSION: The results of this first nationwide study of utilisation of CAM in breast cancer show that CAM users are healthier and more likely to have higher socio-economic status than non-users. Different user patterns for individual types of CAM may be overlooked, when different types of CAM are treated as one homogeneous category.
Authors: Marian L Neuhouser; Ashley Wilder Smith; Stephanie M George; James T Gibson; Kathy B Baumgartner; Richard Baumgartner; Catherine Duggan; Leslie Bernstein; Anne McTiernan; Rachel Ballard Journal: Breast Cancer Res Treat Date: 2016-10-21 Impact factor: 4.872