Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria.
Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham School of Dentistry, Birmingham, UK.
BMJ Open. 2023 Mar 2;13(3):e060644. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-060644.
Despite the paucity of evidence verifying its efficacy and safety, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is expanding in popularity and political support. Decisions to include TCM diagnoses in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision and campaigns to integrate TCM into national healthcare systems have occurred while public perception and usage of TCM, especially in Europe, remains undetermined. Accordingly, this study investigates TCM's popularity, usage and perceived scientific support, as well as its relationship to homeopathy and vaccinations.
DESIGN/SETTING: We performed a cross-sectional survey of the Austrian population. Participants were either recruited on the street (in-person) or online (web-link) via a popular Austrian newspaper.
1382 individuals completed our survey. The sample was poststratified according to data derived from Austria's Federal Statistical Office.
Associations between sociodemographic factors, opinion towards TCM and usage of complementary medicine (CAM) were investigated using a Bayesian graphical model.
Within our poststratified sample, TCM was broadly known (89.9% of women, 90.6% of men), with 58.9% of women and 39.5% of men using TCM between 2016 and 2019. Moreover, 66.4% of women and 49.7% of men agreed with TCM being supported by science. We found a positive relationship between perceived scientific support for TCM and trust in TCM-certified medical doctors (ρ=0.59, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.73). Moreover, perceived scientific support for TCM was negatively correlated with proclivity to get vaccinated (ρ=-0.26, 95% CI -0.43 to -0.08). Additionally, our network model yielded associations between TCM-related, homeopathy-related and vaccination-related variables.
TCM is widely known within the Austrian general population and used by a substantial proportion. However, a disparity exists between the commonly held public perception that TCM is scientific and findings from evidence-based studies. Emphasis should be placed on supporting the distribution of unbiased, science-driven information.
尽管缺乏验证其疗效和安全性的证据，但传统中医（TCM）的受欢迎程度和政治支持度正在不断提高。将 TCM 诊断纳入国际疾病分类第 11 版以及将 TCM 纳入国家医疗保健系统的运动的决策，是在公众对 TCM 的认知和使用，特别是在欧洲，仍未确定的情况下做出的。因此，本研究调查了 TCM 的受欢迎程度、使用情况和感知的科学支持，以及它与顺势疗法和疫苗接种的关系。
设计/设置：我们对奥地利人口进行了横断面调查。参与者是通过一家受欢迎的奥地利报纸在街上（面对面）或在线（网络链接）招募的。
共有 1382 人完成了我们的调查。根据奥地利联邦统计局的数据，对样本进行了事后分层。
在我们分层后的样本中，TCM 被广泛知晓（女性 89.9%，男性 90.6%），2016 年至 2019 年间，58.9%的女性和 39.5%的男性使用过 TCM。此外，66.4%的女性和 49.7%的男性认为 TCM 得到了科学的支持。我们发现，对 TCM 的科学支持程度与对 TCM 认证医生的信任之间存在正相关关系（ρ=0.59，95%置信区间 0.46 至 0.73）。此外，对 TCM 的科学支持与接种疫苗的倾向呈负相关（ρ=-0.26，95%置信区间 -0.43 至 -0.08）。此外，我们的网络模型还产生了与 TCM 相关、顺势疗法相关和疫苗接种相关变量之间的关联。
TCM 在奥地利普通人群中广为人知，并被相当一部分人使用。然而，公众普遍认为 TCM 是科学的，但这与基于证据的研究结果之间存在差距。应该强调的是，支持传播公正、以科学为导向的信息。
