Abstract
BackgroundSleep disorders encompass a wide range of conditions which affect the quality and quantity of sleep, with insomnia being a specific type of sleep disorder of focus in this review. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is often utilized for various sleep disorders. Approximately 4.5% of individuals diagnosed with insomnia in the United States have used a CAM therapy to treat their condition. This systematic review identifies the quantity and assesses the quality of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) which contain CAM recommendations for insomnia.MethodsMEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL were systematically searched from 2009 to 2020, along with the Guidelines International Network, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health website, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the Emergency Care Research Institute. CPGs which focused on the treatment and/or management of insomnia in adults were assessed with the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument.ResultsFrom 277 total results, 250 results were unique, 9 CPGs mentioned CAM for insomnia, and 6 out of the 9 made CAM recommendations relevant to insomnia. Scaled domain percentages from highest to lowest were scope and purpose, clarity of presentation, editorial independence, stakeholder involvement, rigour of development, and applicability. Quality varied within and across CPGs.ConclusionsThe CPGs which contained CAM recommendations for insomnia and which scored well could be used by health care professionals and patients to discuss the use of CAM therapies for the treatment/management of insomnia, while CPGs which scored lower could be improved in future updates according to AGREE II.
Highlights
Sleep disorders encompass a wide range of conditions which affect the quality and quantity of sleep, with insomnia being a specific type of sleep disorder of focus in this review
70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder in general, and a 2018 study found that approximately 25% of the adult population experiences acute insomnia in the United States [9, 10]
The Clinical practice guideline (CPG) which received higher scores could be utilized to inform healthcare providers about specific Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies and could serve as the foundations for discussions involving the use of evidence-based CAMs for treating/managing insomnia
Summary
Sleep disorders encompass a wide range of conditions which affect the quality and quantity of sleep, with insomnia being a specific type of sleep disorder of focus in this review. 4.5% of individuals diagnosed with insomnia in the United States have used a CAM therapy to treat their condition. 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder in general, and a 2018 study found that approximately 25% of the adult population experiences acute insomnia in the United States [9, 10]. One common group of therapies used by those suffering from insomnia include complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). “Complementary medicine” is defined as practices which are considered to be non-mainstream, or methods which are not a part of the standard medical care. “alternative medicine” is defined as a non-mainstream practice which is used instead of standard medical care [12, 13]
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