Alderman Christopher P, Kiepfer Barbara
Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, School of Pharmaceutical, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Australia, Daw Park, South Australia, Australia.
Ann Pharmacother. 2003 Dec;37(12):1779-84. doi: 10.1345/aph.1C179.
Complementary medicine (CM) usage continues to grow in popularity and is now widespread in many cultures throughout the world. Even so, detailed research addressing the use of many of these products in specific populations has yet to be undertaken.
To investigate CM usage among patients treated in an Australian psychiatry unit and to assess fundamental attitudes and beliefs regarding CM in this cohort.
Fifty-two patients were recruited from the department of psychiatry of an Australian teaching hospital. Forty-eight subjects were men, 4 were women, and the mean +/- SD age of subjects was 56.7 +/- 9.1 years. Structured interviews were conducted to obtain details of the extent of CM use, usage patterns, reasons for use, and general perceptions about CM. The questionnaire also elicited information about the subjects' past medical and psychiatric history, prescribed medication, and substance use. Satisfaction with conventional drugs and CMs was measured using visual analog scales. Responses to a series of structured statements were used to assess attitudes and beliefs about complementary therapies.
Eighty-five CM treatments had been used by 27 (51.9%) subjects during the preceding 6 months, and 18 subjects were current CM users (44 items). The most common products taken were vitamins and minerals (n = 18) and herbal medicines (n = 14). Use of CM products was not related to demographic or medical factors, but was significantly less frequent among patients seeing their local physician >1 time per month. Only 17 of the respondents using CMs (63.0%) informed their physician about these therapies. Daily users of CMs ranked their satisfaction level with these products significantly higher (mean satisfaction score 79.0 +/- 21.9) than with conventional therapies (62.9 +/- 26.8). The attitude toward CMs was positive overall, and was slightly more favorable among users than nonusers.
This survey provides insight into the nature of CM usage in an Australian population of psychiatry patients. As this and other studies have revealed extensive use of CM products in various populations, healthcare providers should take this into account and include this issue in discussions with patients.
补充医学（CM）的使用越来越普遍，目前在世界上许多文化中广泛存在。即便如此，针对这些产品在特定人群中的使用情况的详细研究尚未开展。
调查澳大利亚一家精神病科接受治疗的患者中补充医学的使用情况，并评估该队列人群对补充医学的基本态度和信念。
从澳大利亚一家教学医院的精神科招募了52名患者。其中48名受试者为男性，4名受试者为女性，受试者的平均年龄±标准差为56.7±9.1岁。通过结构化访谈获取补充医学使用程度、使用模式、使用原因以及对补充医学的总体看法等详细信息。问卷还收集了受试者过去的医疗和精神病史、处方药使用情况以及物质使用情况。使用视觉模拟量表来衡量对传统药物和补充医学的满意度。通过对一系列结构化陈述的回答来评估对补充疗法的态度和信念。
在之前的6个月中，27名（51.9%）受试者使用了85种补充医学疗法，18名受试者目前正在使用补充医学（44种产品）。服用最多的产品是维生素和矿物质（n = 18）以及草药（n = 14）。补充医学产品的使用与人口统计学或医学因素无关，但在每月看当地医生超过1次的患者中使用频率显著较低。在使用补充医学的受访者中，只有17名（63.0%）告知了他们的医生这些疗法。补充医学的每日使用者对这些产品的满意度评分（平均满意度得分79.0±21.9）显著高于对传统疗法的满意度评分（62.9±26.8）。总体而言，对补充医学的态度是积极的，使用者的态度比非使用者略更积极。
这项调查深入了解了澳大利亚精神病患者群体中补充医学使用的性质。正如这项研究和其他研究表明补充医学产品在不同人群中被广泛使用一样，医疗保健提供者应考虑到这一点，并将这个问题纳入与患者的讨论中。
