Abstract | OBJECTIVES: PATIENTS AND METHODS: The prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use was assessed by using a questionnaire for 749 children visiting pediatric gastroenterology clinics of 9 hospitals in the Netherlands. The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions on the child's gastrointestinal disease, medication use, health status, past and future complementary and alternative medicine use, reasons for its use, and the necessity of complementary and alternative medicine research. RESULTS: In this study population, the frequency of complementary and alternative medicine use was 37.6%. A total of 60.3% of this group had used complementary and alternative medicine specifically for their gastrointestinal disease. This specific complementary and alternative medicine use was higher in patients with functional disorders than organic disorders (25.3% vs 17.2%). Adverse effects of allopathic medication, school absenteeism, age <or=11 years, and a low effect of conventional treatment were predictors of specific complementary and alternative medicine use. Almost all (93%) of the parents considered it important that pediatricians initiate complementary and alternative medicine research, and 51% of parents were willing to participate in future complementary and alternative medicine trials. CONCLUSIONS:
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Authors | Arine M Vlieger, Marjolein Blink, Ellen Tromp, Marc A Benninga |
Journal | Pediatrics
(Pediatrics)
Vol. 122
Issue 2
Pg. e446-51
(Aug 2008)
ISSN: 1098-4275 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 18662934
(Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Multicenter Study)
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Topics |
- Age Distribution
- Analysis of Variance
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Chronic Disease
- Complementary Therapies
(methods)
- Evaluation Studies as Topic
- Female
- Follow-Up Studies
- Gastrointestinal Diseases
(diagnosis, epidemiology, therapy)
- Humans
- Incidence
- Infant
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(diagnosis, epidemiology, therapy)
- Logistic Models
- Male
- Multicenter Studies as Topic
- Multivariate Analysis
- Parental Consent
- Pediatrics
(methods)
- Probability
- Risk Assessment
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Severity of Illness Index
- Sex Distribution
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Treatment Outcome
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