The Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine used in Postmenopausal Women at Srinagarind Hospital

Abstract

Objectives : To study the prevalence, types, motivations, and physician’s awareness regarding the usage of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in postmenopausal women at Srinagarind hospital

Methods : This was a cross sectional descriptive study.  A survey was conducted between July and October 2013 in 200 postmenopausal women with general gynecologic problems who attended outpatient department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Srinagarind hospital, a tertiary care hospital, in northeastern region of Thailand. The pre-validated questionnaires for determining the prevalence, types, motivations and awareness of the physicians in CAM were used.

Results : The mean age of the participants was 56.1 years. The prevalence of current CAM used was 63%. Ya Satree was the most common used (18.6%) followed by Fermented herb juice (16.5%) and Chlorophyll (13.1%). The most important motivation of participants in decision to use CAM was the recommendation of acquaintance people or friends (79.4%) followed by advertisement in newspaper or magazine (16.7%) and advertisement on television (13.5%). Only 28% of physicians asked the patients about history of CAM used, and 19.5% of physicians stated the potential risk of CAM such as herb-drug interaction and adverse effects.

Conclusions : More than 60% of postmenopausal women at Srinagarind hospital used CAM. Most physicians (72%) never asked the patients regarding CAM used. More education on this issue should be provided in order to reduce unnecessary CAM used, and CAM used should be a part of routine history taking in all patients.