Complementary and alternative medications usage in patients attending rheumatology clinics: a cross-sectional study

The usage of complementary and alternative medications (CAM) among rheumatologic patients has grown during re[۱]cent years. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CAM usage in rheumatologic patients in Kerman[۱]shah, Iran, and to investigate its related factors. The study population comprised ۵۰۰ patients with different rheumatic diseases, from whom data on age, gender, marital status, education level, whether they have regular visits by rheuma[۱]tologist, type of rheumatic or musculoskeletal disease, disease duration, whether they use CAM and type of CAM, and source of information for using these medications was collectedand compared between patients who used CAM and  those who did not.The most common diseases were rheumatoid arthritis (۳۲.۸%) followed by systemic lupus erythematosus (۱۸.۸%) and osteoarthritis (۱۴%). Of the ۵۰۰ participants (mean age: ۴۶.۲۸, ۴۲۶ female), ۱۰۹ patients (۲۱.۸%) reported CAM usage,the most frequently reported of which were herbal supplements (۴۲.۶۷%) followed by bloodletting and cupping (۲۹.۰۵%),yoga and meditation (۷.۴۳%), and special dietary regimens (۷.۴۳%). This study identified a cor[۱]relation between disease duration and usage of CAM, althoughother factors were not associated with CAM usage. The results showed that patients with longer disease duration had a greater tendency to use CAM. This result may be impor[۱]tant for management of the increasing interest in CAM usage among rheumatologic patients.