The use of complementary and alternative medicine among women with and without a history of cancer and association with health-related quality of life

A20

Introduction. A significant proportion of the population, including cancer patients, use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It is unclear whether utilization differs among cancer survivors compared to others and if quality of life or perceived health differs between users and non-users of complementary therapies. This study examined supplement use and complementary therapy use among a cohort of women, about one-third of whom had a history of cancer at baseline enrollment.
 >Methods and Population. Data were analyzed from women enrolled in a prospective cohort study at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland to evaluate biomarkers of disease. Baseline data were collected in 2003; a follow-up questionnaire was subsequently administered in 2006 that ascertained data on CAM use in the previous year, self-rated health and quality of life. Women were provided with a list of 40 supplements and 24 therapies plus an “other” category to specify. Of the 734 women who enrolled in the cohort, 511 participated at both time points. Among these 511 women, 194 (38.0%) reported being diagnosed with cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) at baseline. Chi-square analysis and logistic regression methods were conducted comparing CAM use and the associations between CAM use and self-rated health among the 194 cancer survivors to the 347 women without a history of cancer.
 >Results. Among the 194 cancer survivors in the cohort, 21.1% reported the use of supplements and 35.7% reported the use of therapies. The most common types of supplements reported were specific vitamins and multivitamins. The most common forms of complementary therapies reported were prayer (36%), massage therapy (25%), meditation (10%), and acupuncture (8%). There were no statistically significant differences between the use of supplements or therapies among the cancer survivors compared to the group of women without a history of cancer. Self-rated health was not statistically significantly different between cancer survivors and women without cancer: 61% rated their health as excellent or very good compared to 67%, respectively (p=0.4). Self-rated health, change in health over the past 12 months (better, worse, same), and degree of pain did not differ significantly between users and non-users of complementary therapies among cancer survivors or those with no history of cancer.
 >Conclusions. The findings from this study suggest that women diagnosed with cancer do not utilize CAM more often than women without a history of cancer. Further, the results show that there are no statistically significant relationships between CAM use and self-rated overall health, change in health, or pain. Further data analyses are being conducted to examine the associations between the individual types of CAM and self-rated health and quality of life.