TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Herbal Remedy Use in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Women
T2 - Results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation
AU - Green, Robin R.
AU - Santoro, Nanette
AU - Allshouse, Amanda A.
AU - Neal-Perry, Genevieve
AU - Derby, Carol
N1 - Funding Information:
The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) has grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), DHHS, through the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) (Grant Nos. U01NR004061, U01AG 012505, U01AG012535, U01AG012531, U01AG012539, U01AG012546, U01AG012553, U01AG012554, and U01AG012495). The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIA, NINR, ORWH, or the NIH. The authors acknowledge support from the following institutions: Clinical Centers: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI—Siobán Harlow, PI 2011–present, MaryFran Sowers, PI 1994–2011; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA—Joel Finkelstein, PI 1999–present; Robert Neer, PI 1994–1999; Rush University, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL—Howard Kravitz, PI 2009– present; Lynda Powell, PI 1994–2009; University of California, Davis/Kaiser—Ellen Gold, PI; University of California, Los Angeles, CA—Gail Greendale, PI; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY—Carol Derby, PI 2011–present, Rachel Wildman, PI 2010–2011; Nanette Santoro, PI 2004–2010; University of Medicine and Dentistry–New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ—Gerson Weiss, PI 1994–2004; and the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA—Karen Matthews, PI. NIH Program Office: NIA, Bethesda, MD—Chandra Dutta 2016–present; Winifred Rossi 2012–2016; Sherry Sherman 1994–2012; Marcia Ory 1994–2001; NINR, Bethesda, MD—Program Officers. Central Laboratory: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI— Daniel McConnell (Central Ligand Assay Satellite Services). Coordinating Center: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA—Maria Mori Brooks, PI 2012–present; Kim Sutton-Tyrrell, PI 2001–2012; New England Research Institutes, Watertown, MA—Sonja McKinlay, PI 1995–2001. Steering Committee: Susan Johnson, Current Chair. Chris Gallagher, Former Chair. The authors thank the study staff at each site and all the women who participated in SWAN.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, including botanical/herbal remedies, among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), New Jersey site. We also examined whether attitudes toward CAM and communication of its use to providers differed for Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Study design: SWAN is a community-based, multiethnic cohort study of midlife women. At the 13th SWAN follow-up, women at the New Jersey site completed both a general CAM questionnaire and a culturally sensitive CAM questionnaire designed to capture herbal products commonly used in Hispanic/Latina communities. Prevalence of and attitudes toward CAM use were compared by race/ethnicity and demographic characteristics. Results: Among 171 women (average age 61.8 years), the overall prevalence of herbal remedy use was high in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women (88.8% Hispanic and 81.3% non-Hispanic white), and prayer and herbal teas were the most common modalities used. Women reported the use of multiple herbal modalities (mean 6.6 for Hispanic and 4.0 for non-Hispanic white women; p = 0.001). Hispanic women were less likely to consider herbal treatment drugs (16% vs. 37.5%; p = 0.005) and were less likely to report sharing the use of herbal remedies with their doctors (14.4% Hispanic vs. 34% non-Hispanic white; p = 0.001). The number of modalities used was similar regardless of the number of prescription medications used. Conclusions: High prevalence of herbal CAM use was observed for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women. Results highlight the need for healthcare providers to query women regarding CAM use to identify potential interactions with traditional treatments and to determine whether CAM is used in lieu of traditional medications.
AB - Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, including botanical/herbal remedies, among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), New Jersey site. We also examined whether attitudes toward CAM and communication of its use to providers differed for Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Study design: SWAN is a community-based, multiethnic cohort study of midlife women. At the 13th SWAN follow-up, women at the New Jersey site completed both a general CAM questionnaire and a culturally sensitive CAM questionnaire designed to capture herbal products commonly used in Hispanic/Latina communities. Prevalence of and attitudes toward CAM use were compared by race/ethnicity and demographic characteristics. Results: Among 171 women (average age 61.8 years), the overall prevalence of herbal remedy use was high in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women (88.8% Hispanic and 81.3% non-Hispanic white), and prayer and herbal teas were the most common modalities used. Women reported the use of multiple herbal modalities (mean 6.6 for Hispanic and 4.0 for non-Hispanic white women; p = 0.001). Hispanic women were less likely to consider herbal treatment drugs (16% vs. 37.5%; p = 0.005) and were less likely to report sharing the use of herbal remedies with their doctors (14.4% Hispanic vs. 34% non-Hispanic white; p = 0.001). The number of modalities used was similar regardless of the number of prescription medications used. Conclusions: High prevalence of herbal CAM use was observed for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women. Results highlight the need for healthcare providers to query women regarding CAM use to identify potential interactions with traditional treatments and to determine whether CAM is used in lieu of traditional medications.
KW - Complementary and alternative medicine
KW - Hispanic women
KW - herbal remedies
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U2 - 10.1089/acm.2017.0080
DO - 10.1089/acm.2017.0080
M3 - Article
C2 - 28915061
AN - SCOPUS:85032022097
SN - 1075-5535
VL - 23
SP - 805
EP - 811
JO - Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
JF - Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
IS - 10
ER -