Najm Wadie, Reinsch Sibylle, Hoehler Fred, Tobis Jerome
Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Irvine, USA.
Altern Ther Health Med. 2003 May-Jun;9(3):50-7.
We sought to explore whether the elderly are high users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and to determine which modalities they use. We also sought to describe patterns and positive predictors of CAM use among 3 ethnically diverse groups of community-residing elderly.
A 7-page questionnaire was developed and translated into Spanish and Vietnamese.
A population of 525 community-residing elderly completed personal interviews.
Two hundred and fifty-one respondents (47.8%) reported using CAM over the past year. Dietary supplements (47.4%), chiropractic (16.3%), home remedies (15.9%), acupuncture (15.1%), and Oriental medicine (12.8%), were the most frequently cited therapies. The majority of CAM users (62.4%) did not inform their physicians that they were using it, but 58% consulted their physician for the same problem for which they used CAM. Family and friends were most relied upon for making the choice of therapy. Among the 3 ethnic groups studied, Asians were higher users of acupuncture (28%) and Oriental medicine (31%), Hispanics were higher users of dietary supplements (56%), home remedies (25%), and curanderos (8%), while white non-Hispanics were higher users of chiropractic (42%), massage (20%), vitamins (20%), diet (17%), and psychospiritual (15%) modalities. Pain was a higher indicator of CAM use among Asians, gastrointestinal problems and diabetes among Hispanics, and stress/fatigue and cardiovascular problems among white non-Hispanics.
Findings indicated a high use of CAM among the elderly and emphasize the likelihood that elderly immigrants use those therapies with which they are familiar. Modalities and conditions varied with the ethnicity of respondents.
我们试图探究老年人是否为补充和替代医学（CAM）的高使用者，并确定他们使用哪些疗法。我们还试图描述居住在社区的三个不同种族老年人群中CAM使用的模式和积极预测因素。
编制了一份7页的问卷，并翻译成西班牙语和越南语。
525名居住在社区的老年人完成了个人访谈。
251名受访者（47.8%）报告在过去一年中使用过CAM。膳食补充剂（47.4%）、脊椎按摩疗法（16.3%）、家庭疗法（15.9%）、针灸（15.1%）和东方医学（12.8%）是最常被提及的疗法。大多数CAM使用者（62.4%）没有告知他们的医生自己正在使用CAM，但58%的人就他们使用CAM治疗的相同问题咨询过医生。选择疗法时最依赖家人和朋友。在研究的三个种族群体中，亚洲人针灸（28%）和东方医学（31%）的使用者比例更高，西班牙裔膳食补充剂（56%）、家庭疗法（25%）和民间疗法（8%）的使用者比例更高，而非西班牙裔白人脊椎按摩疗法（42%）、按摩（20%）、维生素（20%）、饮食（17%）和心理精神（15%）疗法的使用者比例更高。疼痛在亚洲人中是使用CAM的更高指标，胃肠道问题和糖尿病在西班牙裔中是更高指标，压力/疲劳和心血管问题在非西班牙裔白人中是更高指标。
研究结果表明老年人中CAM的使用率很高，并强调了老年移民使用他们熟悉的疗法的可能性。疗法和病症因受访者的种族而异。
