Cherniack E Paul, Ceron-Fuentes Jose, Florez Hermes, Sandals Lauran, Rodriguez Osvaldo, Palacios Juan Carlos
Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, FL, USA.
Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2008 May;14(2):116-23. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2007.11.002. Epub 2007 Dec 26.
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is prevalent among elderly individuals. While race and ethnicity may influence the choice of CAM, it is uncertain how this influence affects an individual's choice of CAM or conventional medicine. Furthermore, it is unclear whether this choice of CAM or conventional medicine might vary for different medical conditions. A survey of CAM use was performed on a convenience sample of 338 multi-ethnic urban elderly subjects who attended clinic at two large university-affiliated hospitals over 2 years. The survey asked about individual CAM therapies used, and whether subjects would prefer conventional (prescription or over-the-counter) or CAM (herbal or other) treatment for three different medical conditions: colds, insomnia, and back pain. Hispanic ethnicity and female gender were the best predictors of CAM use. Blacks were more likely than whites to utilize CAM. Hispanics were more likely to choose herbal medications to self-treat colds and insomnia than whites or blacks, or low-back pain than whites. More Hispanics chose herbal medications to treat insomnia than over-the-counter or prescription medications.
补充和替代医学（CAM）在老年人中使用普遍。虽然种族和民族可能会影响补充和替代医学的选择，但这种影响如何作用于个体对补充和替代医学或传统医学的选择尚不确定。此外，尚不清楚这种对补充和替代医学或传统医学的选择是否会因不同的医疗状况而有所不同。对338名多民族城市老年受试者进行了一项关于补充和替代医学使用情况的调查，这些受试者是从两所大型大学附属医院在两年多时间里就诊的患者中方便抽样选取的。该调查询问了所使用的个体补充和替代医学疗法，以及受试者对于三种不同医疗状况（感冒、失眠和背痛）更倾向于传统（处方或非处方）治疗还是补充和替代医学（草药或其他）治疗。西班牙裔民族和女性性别是补充和替代医学使用的最佳预测因素。黑人比白人更有可能使用补充和替代医学。西班牙裔比白人和黑人更倾向于选择草药来自我治疗感冒和失眠，并且比白人更倾向于选择草药治疗腰痛。更多西班牙裔选择草药治疗失眠，而非非处方或处方药。
