Hammersen Friederike, Pursche Telja, Fischer Dorothea, Katalinic Alexander, Waldmann Annika
Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
Breast Care (Basel). 2020 Apr;15(2):163-170. doi: 10.1159/000501193. Epub 2019 Jul 19.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has received increasing attention in Western countries and is especially common among breast cancer (BC) patients. So far, its effectiveness has not been well studied, which is in part due to the contextuality of CAM along with a lack of information of why patients use it.
Young BC patients constitute a special patient group regarding clinical characteristics, QOL, and their role in society. Since little is known about their CAM use, this study aimed at exploring it as well as their reasons for CAM use.
Data on CAM and sociodemographics were collected via questionnaire in the context of a rehabilitation program for young mothers with BC. Initial BC diagnoses were between 2009 and 2014 (recruitment period 2012-2015). Clinical characteristics were derived from the patient files. Descriptive statistics were used to describe frequencies and statistically significant differences were tested.
Among the 827 patients, with an average age of 39.6 years, 62.5% had used CAM with regard to their cancer. CAM use was significantly higher in women with higher educational level, higher employment status, and statutory health insurance, respectively. The average monthly expenses on CAM were EUR 50. Every 5th woman used CAM without her physician's knowledge. The types most often used were dietary supplements with vitamins or minerals. The most frequent reasons for CAM use were to strengthen the immune system, support conventional medicine, and combat side effects.
CAM plays an important role for young BC patients with regard to prevalence and monthly expenses, and was used for a wide range of reasons. Certain subgroups with more frequent CAM use could be identified. Physicians should therefore proactively talk about CAM with their young BC patients, so that patients do not need to rely on information sources on CAM outside the medical system.
补充和替代医学（CAM）在西方国家受到越来越多的关注，在乳腺癌（BC）患者中尤为常见。到目前为止，其有效性尚未得到充分研究，部分原因是CAM的背景情况以及缺乏患者使用它的原因信息。
年轻的BC患者在临床特征、生活质量及其在社会中的角色方面构成一个特殊的患者群体。由于对他们使用CAM的情况了解甚少，本研究旨在探索其使用情况及其使用CAM的原因。
在一项针对患有BC的年轻母亲的康复计划中，通过问卷调查收集了关于CAM和社会人口统计学的数据。最初的BC诊断时间为2009年至2014年（招募期为2012年至2015年）。临床特征来自患者档案。使用描述性统计来描述频率，并检验统计学上的显著差异。
在827名平均年龄为39.6岁的患者中，62.5%的人在患癌症期间使用过CAM。在教育水平较高、就业状况较好和拥有法定健康保险的女性中，CAM的使用显著更高。CAM的平均每月费用为50欧元。每五名女性中有一名在医生不知情的情况下使用CAM。最常使用的类型是含有维生素或矿物质的膳食补充剂。使用CAM最常见的原因是增强免疫系统、辅助传统医学和对抗副作用。
CAM在年轻的BC患者中，在患病率和每月费用方面起着重要作用，并且使用原因多种多样。可以识别出某些使用CAM更频繁的亚组。因此，医生应该主动与年轻的BC患者谈论CAM，以便患者无需依赖医疗系统之外的CAM信息来源。
