Prevalence, Purposes, and Perceived Effectiveness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in a Hypertension Population: A Questionnaire Survey

Abstract

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used among patients with hypertension. This study aimed to determine the use of CAM in community-dwelling individuals with hypertension. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered to 318 hypertension patients to examine prevalence and patterns of CAM use; the use of CAM, specifically for treatment of hypertension or other conditions, and perceived effectiveness of CAM were examined. CAM use in the last 12 months was reported by 236 (74.2%) participants. Only 13.1% of these CAM users reported using CAM to treat hypertension. CAM users did not differ statistically from non-CAM users by age, marital status, health status, duration of hypertension, income, or education. Females showed a significantly higher prevalence of CAM use than that of males (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.09, 3.11). Family/relatives, doctors, and patients themselves were the three main sources of information about CAM. More than 70% of responses were able to perceive the effectiveness of alternative medical systems, mind-body medicine, and manipulative/body-based therapies. There was a high prevalence of CAM use among hypertension patients, although the majority of CAM use was not specifically for hypertension. Further research is needed to assess the safety and efficacy of diverse CAM.