Abstract
BackgroundGermany is a country with a high use of herbal medicinal products. Population-based data on the use of herbal medicinal products among children are lacking. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence, patterns and determinants of herbal medicine use among children and adolescents in Germany.MethodsAs data base served the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), a representative population based survey conducted 2003–2006 by the Robert Koch Institute. 17,450 boys and girls aged 0–17 years provided information on drug use in the preceding seven days. Herbal medicinal products were defined according to the European and German drug laws. SPSS Complex Sample method was used to estimate prevalence rates and factors associated with herbal medicine use.ResultsThe prevalence rate of herbal medicinal product use amounts to 5.8% (95% confidence interval 5.3-6.3%). Use of herbal medicine declines along with increasing age and shows no difference between boys and girls in younger age groups. Teenage girls are more likely to use herbal medicines than teenage boys. Two thirds of herbal medicines are used for the treatment of coughs and colds; nearly half of herbal medicines are prescribed by medical doctors. Determinants of herbal medicinal product use are younger age, residing in South Germany, having a poor health status, having no immigration background and coming from a higher social class family. Children’s and parents-related health behavior is not found to be associated with herbal medicine use after adjusting for social class.ConclusionsUse of herbal medicinal products among children and adolescents between the ages of 0 and 17 years in Germany is widely spread and shows relatively higher rates compared to international data. This study provides a reference on the use of herbal medicinal products for policy-makers, health professionals and parents. Further studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of specific herbal medicinal products, potential effects of long term use as well as possible interactions of herbal medicinal products with concomitantly used conventional medicines.
Highlights
Germany is a country with a high use of herbal medicinal products
Children younger than 6 years old show a higher use of herbal medicinal products compared to children in other age groups
No difference is found among children residing either in East vs. West Germany (p = .287), or in North vs. Central vs. South Germany (p = .181) or in rural areas vs. cities (p = .211)
Summary
Germany is a country with a high use of herbal medicinal products. Population-based data on the use of herbal medicinal products among children are lacking. The use of herbal medicinal products for the treatment and prevention of diseases has a long tradition worldwide Nowadays, it still plays an important role in the health care of numerous divergent societies ranging from developing countries in Asia and Africa to western developed nations [1]. One of the reasons for this is the fact, that for the majority of herbal active substances, therapeutic activity cannot be related to scientifically identified, chemically defined ingredients, which aggravates conventional clinical studies. Concerning the use of medicinal products in children and adolescents, it is generally recognized that preclinical and clinical studies in this field are lacking regardless of the products’ classification as herbal or chemically defined products [9]. Even though herbal medicinal products are frequently used and regarded as ‘natural’ products, they can cause adverse drug reactions [11,12] as well as adverse interactions with other medications [13,14]
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