The Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Dermatology Outpatients in Shiraz, Iran. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dastgheib, Ladan; Farahangiz, Saman; Adelpour, Zeinab; Salehi, Alireza
• Is Part Of: Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine. Volume 22:Number 4(2017:Oct.)
• Page Start: 731
• Page End: 735
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: complementary therapies -- dermatology -- outpatient -- Iran -- traditional; Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1177/2156587217705054
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2156-5872

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess complementary and alternative medicine use and its related factors among Iranian dermatology outpatients. In this cross-sectional study, a self-structured questionnaire was administered to 600 dermatology outpatients. Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and binary logistic regression test were used. A total of 188 (31.3%) patients had used one of complementary and alternative medicine methods. The most frequent method used was herbal medicine (89.9%). The mean years of duration of the skin condition were significantly higher in complementary and alternative medicine users compared with nonusers ( P = .037). Patients with acne and alopecia significantly used more complementary and alternative medicine (odds ratio: 2.48 and 3.19, respectively). There was a significant relationship between education and using complementary and alternative medicine ( P < .001). Complementary and alternative medicine use is prevalent among our patients and we should think of ways of educating general population about complementary and alternative medicine methods and their potential risks and benefits and encourage our health care workers to communicate these materials with their patients.