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. 2023 May;38(6-7):367-372.
doi: 10.1177/08830738231186490. Epub 2023 Jul 16.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Neuromuscular Disorders Followed at Penn State Health Pediatric Muscular Dystrophy Association Care Center Clinic

Rea Mittal  1 , Caroline Maltese  1 , Elizabeth Bolt  1 , Dustin Paul  1 , Gayatra Mainali  1 , Sunil Naik  1 , Sita Paudel  1 , Erik Lehman  2 , Ashutosh Kumar  1
Affiliations

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Neuromuscular Disorders Followed at Penn State Health Pediatric Muscular Dystrophy Association Care Center Clinic

Rea Mittal et al. J Child Neurol. 2023 May.

Abstract

The exact prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is not known in pediatric patients with neuromuscular diseases followed by any of the 150 Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Care Center Clinics nationwide. This study describes the prevalence and variety of CAM usage in this population, while also assessing the prevalence of caregiver disclosure of CAM use and caregiver perception of provider support for CAM. Fifty-two caregivers of pediatric patients seen at Penn State Health's Pediatric MDA Care Center Clinic completed our online survey. Overall, 19.2% of caregivers reported CAM use by their child. Less than half of caregivers reported discussing CAM use with their child's neurologist (41.5%); however, a majority of respondents reported interest in using CAM for their child in the future (52.8%). Understanding the prevalence of CAM usage and disclosure in pediatric MDA clinics may facilitate safer use of CAM in this community.

Keywords: Muscular Dystrophy Association; complementary and alternative medicine; integrative medicine; muscular dystrophy; neuromuscular; pediatrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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