Smith Caroline, Eckert Kerena
School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
J Paediatr Child Health. 2006 Sep;42(9):538-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1754.2006.00918.x.
To determine the use of complementary and alternative medicines and therapies (CAM) and common treatment modalities in children.
This is a cross-sectional, population-based survey of 2985 adult and 911 children aged 15 years or less, conducted in South Australia in Spring 2004. The outcome measures are CAM use in children in the previous 12 months.
Overall, the 12-month prevalence of CAM use in children was 18.4% (95% confidence interval 15.9-21.0). A wide variety of CAM modalities were used by children including ingestible therapies (33%), chiropractic (34%) and massage (20%). Common reasons for use of CAM were to prevent illness or to maintain health (39%) and for musculoskeletal conditions (22%), respiratory problems (20%) and skin complaints (18%). There was little difference in the use of CAM treatment modality across child ages.
Approximately one in five children used CAM in the past 12 months in South Australia. Our findings further highlight the importance of increasing public awareness about the need to inform doctors and primary health-care providers of CAM use in children. Health professionals working with children should ask parents about their children's use of CAM. There is a need for further research examining the safe and judicious use of CAM in children.
确定儿童使用补充和替代药物及疗法（CAM）以及常见治疗方式的情况。
这是一项于2004年春季在南澳大利亚州进行的基于人群的横断面调查，涉及2985名成年人和911名15岁及以下儿童。结果指标是儿童在过去12个月内使用CAM的情况。
总体而言，儿童在过去12个月内使用CAM的患病率为18.4%（95%置信区间15.9 - 21.0）。儿童使用的CAM方式多种多样，包括可摄入疗法（33%）、脊椎按摩疗法（34%）和按摩（20%）。使用CAM的常见原因是预防疾病或保持健康（39%）以及用于肌肉骨骼疾病（22%）、呼吸问题（20%）和皮肤问题（18%）。不同年龄段儿童在使用CAM治疗方式上差异不大。
在南澳大利亚州，约五分之一的儿童在过去12个月内使用了CAM。我们的研究结果进一步凸显了提高公众意识的重要性，即需要告知医生和初级卫生保健提供者儿童使用CAM的情况。与儿童打交道的卫生专业人员应询问家长其子女使用CAM的情况。有必要进一步研究儿童安全、合理使用CAM的问题。
