Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Nov 8;16(1):446.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1430-4.

Complementary and alternative medicine use amongst patients with cardiovascular disease in Singapore

Tse Yean Teo  1 , Jonathan Yap  2 , Tong Shen  1 , Khung Keong Yeo  3   4
Affiliations

Complementary and alternative medicine use amongst patients with cardiovascular disease in Singapore

Tse Yean Teo et al. BMC Complement Altern Med. .

Abstract

Background: Data on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are lacking. We aim to investigate the prevalence of CAM use among patients with CVD attending a tertiary centre for cardiovascular care, their attitudes and beliefs towards CAM, and factors associated with CAM usage.

Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administered written survey was conducted on consecutive patients attending outpatient cardiovascular clinics at our tertiary institution over 2 months from June to July 2014. Information gathered included demographic data and various aspects of CAM use.

Results: A total of 768 responses (562 males, mean age 57 ± 13 years, 74 % Chinese, 6 % Malay, 14 % Indian) were included. The prevalence of CAM use in the cohort was 43.4 % (333/768). Biologically-based systems (29.4 %) was the most common type of CAM used. Some patients (19.0 %) used multiple types of CAM simultaneously. External influences (78.1 %) were cited more than internal influences (47.8 %) to affect CAM use. Malay ethnicity (compared to Chinese) was the only significant negative multivariate predictor of CAM use (OR = 0.531 (95 % CI 0.147 to 0.838), p = 0.018). A significantly higher proportion of CAM users compared to non-CAM users were non-compliant to medications (35.6 %, n = 114 vs. 20.5 %, n = 84, p < 0.001) and consults (41.4 %, n = 130 vs. 28.1 %, n = 112, p < 0.001) respectively.

Conclusion: The usage of CAM is prevalent amongst our patients with CVD. CAM use was associated with poorer reported compliance to medications and consults. Understanding the factors influencing CAM use amongst CVD patients provides medical professionals with an opportunity to better discuss CAM use and potentially enhance the patient-physician interaction.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Communication; Complementary and alternative medicine; Singapore.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lin MC, Nahin R, Gershwin ME, Longhurst JC, Wu KK. State of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cardiovascular, Lung, and Blood Research. Circulation. 2001;103(16):2038–42. - PubMed
    1. Eisenberg DM. Trends in Alternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990–1997: Results of a Follow-up National Survey. JAMA J Am Med Assoc. 1998;280(18):1569–75. doi: 10.1001/jama.280.18.1569. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Complementary and Alternative Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. 2003. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/acquisitions/cdm/subjects24.html. Accessed 30 June 2016.
    1. Ernst E. Prevalence of use of complementary/alternative medicine : a systematic review. Bull World Heal Organ. 2000;78(0143):252–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fisher P, Ward A. Complementary medicine in Europe. BMJ. 1994;309(6947):107–11. doi: 10.1136/bmj.309.6947.107. - DOI - PMC - PubMed