Boon Heather, Westlake Kathleen, Stewart Moira, Gray Ross, Fleshner Neil, Gavin Alan, Brown Judith Belle, Goel Vivek
Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Urology. 2003 Nov;62(5):849-53. doi: 10.1016/s0090-4295(03)00668-x.
To ascertain the prevalence of the use of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) among a random sample of Ontario (Canadian) men diagnosed with prostate cancer and to explore in what way users of CAM differ from nonusers.
A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 696 men diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The final response rate was 78.8%. Almost one third (29.8%) reported using CAM for their prostate cancer care. Natural health products (most commonly vitamin E, saw palmetto, and selenium) were used by 26.5% of the respondents. CAM therapies were used by 17.0% of the men (most commonly dietary changes), and only 9.1% visited CAM practitioners. Three characteristics appear to differentiate CAM users from nonusers. Men who had attended support groups were much more likely to use CAM. Men who had more advanced disease, and those who believed in the efficacy of CAM, but were not concerned about potential adverse effects of CAM, were also more likely to use CAM. CAM use was not related to education, income, or geographic location.
The data suggest that CAM use is no longer a phenomenon restricted to a unique segment of the population that is highly educated and enjoys a high family income. CAM use appears to be more related to other factors such as support group attendance, disease characteristics, and beliefs about CAM. Our findings highlight the need for urologists to ask all their patients about their use of CAM.
确定在安大略省（加拿大）被诊断患有前列腺癌的男性随机样本中补充和替代医学（CAM）的使用情况，并探讨CAM使用者与非使用者在哪些方面存在差异。
向696名被诊断患有前列腺癌的男性随机样本邮寄了一份调查问卷。
最终回复率为78.8%。近三分之一（29.8%）的人报告在前列腺癌治疗中使用了CAM。26.5%的受访者使用了天然保健品（最常见的是维生素E、锯棕榈和硒）。17.0%的男性使用了CAM疗法（最常见的是饮食改变），只有9.1%的人咨询过CAM从业者。有三个特征似乎可以区分CAM使用者和非使用者。参加过支持小组的男性使用CAM的可能性要大得多。患有更晚期疾病的男性，以及那些相信CAM的疗效但不担心其潜在不良反应的男性，也更有可能使用CAM。CAM的使用与教育程度、收入或地理位置无关。
数据表明，CAM的使用不再是一种仅限于高学历和高家庭收入特定人群的现象。CAM的使用似乎与其他因素，如参加支持小组、疾病特征以及对CAM的信念，更为相关。我们的研究结果强调泌尿科医生需要询问所有患者关于他们使用CAM的情况。
