Uso de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos como coadjuvantes na conduta nutricional: associação com estado antropométrico e sintomas psicológicos

Abstract

Introduction: There is growing interest in the use of medicinal plants and herbal medicines by the population and this therapy has been established as a complement to the dietary prescription. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify the profile of the use of herbal medicines and medicinal plants by patients at a Nutrition school clinic and to evaluate their association with clinical and anthropometric variables. Methods: Cross-sectional, retrospective study, with analysis of the medical records of patients aged 20 years or older, with reports of previous use or prescription of medicinal plants and herbal medicines. Demographic, socioeconomic, anthropometric and clinical variables (psychological symptoms) were evaluated. Pearson’s Chi-square test for categorical variables and the t-Student for continuous variables were used to detect statistically significant differences when p <0.05. Results: Of the 395 patients seen, 52 medical records were used; the female gender (86.5%) and overweight (76.9%) prevailed. The presence of psychological symptoms was considerable (48.1%). Infusion was the most frequent form of use (50%) and among the categories, anxiolytics predominated (34.8%), which were related to lower values of body mass index (p = 0.442) and waist circumference (p = 0.445). The presence of two or more psychological symptoms was associated with the use of anxiolytics (p = 0.001) and thermogenic (p = 0.05) and diuretics with higher mean body mass index (p = 0.03) and body circumference waist (p = 0.016). Conclusion: The use and prescription of plant products were considerable and was related to anthropometric variables (significant for diuretics) and psychological symptoms (significant for anxiolytics and thermogenics). The importance of further studies on the use of these products for therapeutic purposes is emphasized to optimize their rational use.