Zare Kiarash, Hedayati Arvin, Hashemi Yussef, Ostovari Zahra, Naghizadeh Mohammad Mehdi, Hashempur Mohammad Hashem, Mosavat Seyed Hamdollah
Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Sleep Breath. 2025 May 22;29(3):192. doi: 10.1007/s11325-025-03354-8.
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and types of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) utilization among Iranian patients referred to psychiatric clinics with self-reported insomnia. It also sought to explore demographic characteristics, attitude of the patients to CAM, the factors influencing patients' decision to use CAM, and factors thought to be linked to the adoption of CAM in this patient population.
A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2023 and October 2023 on 217 patients at outpatient academic psychiatric clinics affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Data was collected using the Persian version of the international questionnaire to measure use of complementary and alternative medicine (I-CAM-IR), assessing CAM usage, motives, specific modalities, and sources of exposure. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze demographic characteristics, while Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were used to assess associations between demographic factors and CAM usage.
A total of 217 patients were initially recruited for the study; however, 12 participants were excluded due to incomplete or invalid data, resulting in a final sample of 205 participants included in the analysis. Of 205 participants, 68.3% reported CAM use, with herbal medicines (73.6%), Persian medicine (45.7%), vitamins and minerals (43.6%), and cupping (10.7%) being prominent modalities. Significant associations were observed between CAM use and demographic factors such as age (P = 0.006), gender (P < 0.001), education (P = 0.006), occupation (P = 0.002), father and mother education levels (P < 0.001, P = 0.015), and family income (P = 0.019). Most CAM users (78.1%) did not inform healthcare providers about their CAM use, with perceived effectiveness mainly focused on health promotion (80.6%).
This study reveals a substantial prevalence of CAM utilization among insomnia patients in psychiatric clinics of Iran, with demographic factors influencing CAM use. Healthcare providers should consider incorporating discussions about CAM into insomnia management strategies and be prepared to address patient preferences for complementary treatments. Future research should further explore the impact and outcomes of CAM utilization in managing insomnia to optimize patient care in psychiatric settings.
本研究旨在调查转诊至精神科诊所且自述失眠的伊朗患者中补充和替代医学（CAM）的使用 prevalence 及类型。研究还试图探索人口统计学特征、患者对CAM的态度、影响患者使用CAM的决定因素，以及在该患者群体中被认为与采用CAM相关的因素。
2023年7月至2023年10月，对设拉子医科大学附属门诊学术精神科诊所的217名患者进行了一项横断面研究。使用国际问卷的波斯语版本收集数据，以测量补充和替代医学的使用情况（I-CAM-IR），评估CAM的使用情况、动机、具体方式和接触来源。采用描述性统计分析人口统计学特征，使用卡方检验和逻辑回归分析评估人口统计学因素与CAM使用之间的关联。
共有217名患者最初被纳入研究；然而，12名参与者因数据不完整或无效被排除，最终有205名参与者纳入分析。在205名参与者中，68.3%报告使用了CAM，其中草药（73.6%）、波斯医学（45.7%）、维生素和矿物质（43.6%）以及拔罐（10.7%）是主要方式。观察到CAM使用与年龄（P = 0.006）、性别（P < 0.001）、教育程度（P = 0.006）、职业（P = 0.002）、父母教育水平（P < 0.001，P = 0.015）和家庭收入（P = 0.019）等人口统计学因素之间存在显著关联。大多数CAM使用者（78.1%）未告知医疗服务提供者其CAM使用情况，其认为的有效性主要集中在促进健康（80.6%）。
本研究揭示了伊朗精神科诊所失眠患者中CAM使用的 prevalence 较高，人口统计学因素影响CAM的使用。医疗服务提供者应考虑将关于CAM的讨论纳入失眠管理策略，并准备好应对患者对补充治疗的偏好。未来的研究应进一步探索CAM在治疗失眠中的影响和结果，以优化精神科环境中的患者护理。
