Abstract
Background. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is an integral part of patients' therapeutic experience worldwide. Among Saudi older adults, less is known about CAM utilization. Objectives. To determine the prevalence, patterns, and factors associated with CAM utilization among SOA. Methods. In the Saudi National Survey for Elderly Health (SNSEH), subjects were asked about CAM use during the last twelve months before the interview. CAM use was defined as any use of herbal products, acupuncture, bloodletting, cauterization, medical massage, bones manual manipulation, honey, or religious rituals. Demographic characteristics included gender, age, marital status, region, educational level, and residence area. In addition, multiple comorbidities were included as possible factors that may be associated with CAM use. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with CAM utilization. All statistical analyses were done using STATA v.14. Results. Out of 2946 respondents, 50.4% were males, the mean age was 70.3 ± 8.3 years, and 70% were illiterate. CAM use was prevalent (62.5%). The most common CAM types were herbal products (25.4%), acupuncture (21.2%), bloodletting (12%), honey (9.5%), cauterization (7.4%), medical massage and bones manual manipulation (4%), and traditional bone setting (2.1%). In the multivariable regression, age, gender, and marital status did not have an impact on the odds of using CAM. Subjects from rural areas were 2.92 times more likely to use CAM compared with subjects in urban areas (OR = 2.92; 95%CI: 2.28‐3.75). Subjects with metabolic disorders (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.42‐0.60) or kidney disease were less likely to use CAM (OR = 0.30; 95%CI: 0.14‐0.64). About pain, CAM is used more in neck pain (OR = 1.69; 95%CI: 1.30‐2.21) and also used in back pain (OR = 1.22; 95%CI: 1.03‐1.46). Conclusions. CAM use was very prevalent among SOA. Clinicians and pharmacists must ask about CAM use among older adults as many of CAM may interact with patients medications.
Highlights
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a diverse group of interventions, practices, and products that are not considered as part of the usual care [1, 2].ey include different categories, such as herbal products, acupuncture, bloodletting, cauterization, medical massage, and manual manipulation of bones, as well as religious rituals and practices. e institute of medicine has listed more than one hundred interventions/practicesEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine under CAM [3]
Since religious rituals are very common in the Saudi Arabian society, they were defined as going to a scholar for performing the prayers and not self-prayers. e categories of CAM were based on the cultural practices in Saudi Arabia. e subjects were asked if they have been using any of these categories as a CAM
CAM utilization was prevalent among Saudi older adults at 62.5%. e prevalence of CAM use varies between studies and countries
Summary
Ey include different categories, such as herbal products, acupuncture, bloodletting, cauterization, medical massage, and manual manipulation of bones, as well as religious rituals and practices. In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of CAM use among adults ranged between 65% and 80% [4, 5]. Among Saudi older adults, less is known about CAM utilization. Patterns, and factors associated with CAM utilization among SOA. CAM use was defined as any use of herbal products, acupuncture, bloodletting, cauterization, medical massage, bones manual manipulation, honey, or religious rituals. E most common CAM types were herbal products (25.4%), acupuncture (21.2%), bloodletting (12%), honey (9.5%), cauterization (7.4%), medical massage and bones manual manipulation (4%), and traditional bone setting (2.1%). Clinicians and pharmacists must ask about CAM use among older adults as many of CAM may interact with patients medications
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