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Use of complementary and alternative medicines among a multistate, multisite cohort of people living with HIV/AIDS
Author(s) -
Josephs JS,
Fleishman JA,
Gaist P,
Gebo KA
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2007.00474.x
Subject(s) - medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , cohort , alternative medicine , gerontology , family medicine , pathology
Objective The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of and factors associated with use of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) in a multistate, multisite cohort of HIV‐infected patients. Methods During 2003, 951 adult patients from 14 sites participated in face‐to‐face interviews. Patients were asked if they received treatment from any alternative therapist or practitioner in the previous 6 months. Logistic regression was performed to examine associations between demographic and clinical variables and CAM use. Results The majority of the participants were male (68%) and African American (52%) with a median age of 45 years (range 20–85 years). Sixteen per cent used any CAM in the 6 months prior to the interview. Factors associated with use of CAM were the HIV risk factor injecting drug use [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.51] compared with men who have sex with men (MSM), former drug use (AOR=2.12) compared with never having used drugs, having a college education (AOR=2.43), and visiting a mental health provider (AOR=2.76). Conclusions This study demonstrated similar rates of CAM use in the current highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era compared with the pre‐HAART era. Factors associated with CAM – such as education, use of mental health services, and MSM risk factor – suggest that CAM use may be associated with heightened awareness regarding the availability of such therapies. Given the potential detrimental interactions of certain types of CAM and HAART, all HIV‐infected patients should be screened for use of CAM.