The prevalence, characteristics, expenditure and predictors of complementary medicine use in Australians living with gastrointestinal disorders: A cross-sectional study.

AIMS: To determine the prevalence, characteristics, expenditure and predictors of complementary medicine (CM) use in Australian adults living with gastrointestinal disorders (GID). METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 2,025 Australian adults was conducted. Participants were recruited through purposive convenience sampling. Descriptive statistics were conducted to report the prevalence of people living with GIDs and their CM use, including CM products, mind-body practices and CM practitioner services. Chi-square test and independent-samples t-test were used to determine the associations between sociodemographic or health-related variables with CM use. Binary logistic regression was conducted to determine the significant predictors of CM use in GID participants. Economic data was calculated based on the mean out-of-pocket expenditure on CM. RESULTS: Of the 293 participants reporting a GID, 186 (63.5%) used CM products, 55 (18.8%) used a mind-body practice and 141 (48.1%) visited at least one CM practitioner in the last 12 months. Collectively, the majority of GID participants using any type of CM were female, aged 40-49 years, married and employed. The mean score for health-related quality of life was 49.6 out of 100 in GID participants and 68.2 in participants without a GID (p < 0.001). Average annual out-of-pocket expenditure on CM products was AUD127.29 by CM products users with a GID. The predictors of CM products, mind-body practices and CM practitioner services use differed. Of the 111 CM product users with a GID, 103 (92.8%) disclosed all or some of their CM use to general practitioner, 89 (80.2%) to specialist doctor, 79 (71.2%) to pharmacist and 69 (62.1%) to hospital doctor. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of Australian adults living with GID use CM products, mind-body practices and CM practitioner services. This study provides important insights to inform and guide the development of a more coordinated health care services for individuals living with GID.

The prevalence and characteristics of complementary medicine use by Australian and American adults living with gastrointestinal disorders: A systematic review.

AIM: To report the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of complementary medicine (CM) use by Australian and American adults living with gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. METHOD: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Medline, Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for studies published in English language between 1st January 2008 and 8th April 2018. Additionally, a Google Scholar search and risk of bias assessment were conducted. RESULTS: Twelve (five American and seven Australian) studies, involving 53,991 adults were included. Data were extracted from studies reporting CM use by both specific populations with medically diagnosed GI disorders and the general population with self-reported GI disorders. CM use ranged from 23.6% to 44% (American) and 27.2% to 58% (Australian) by adults with medically diagnosed GI disorders. Whilst CM use was higher amongst females, with higher incomes and education levels. The prevalence of CM use by those with self-reported GI disorders varied from 0.31% to 80%. Herbal, probiotic supplements and mind-body practices were the most prevalent CMs used. The risk of bias assessment identified weaknesses in the external validity, principally related to poor study design. CONCLUSIONS: There is a substantial use of CMs by American and Australian adults with GI disorders. Females with higher education and income are predominant users. There is a need to conduct up-to-date and well-designed prevalence and sociodemographic studies. Additionally, future studies should consider including health literacy and medicines disclosure scales in order to better understand CM use by this population.