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The present study is a cross-sectional web-based survey conducted in Brazil aiming to describe how individual differences in temperament traits and types could predict the use of the following eight categories of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM): yoga, meditation, reiki, acupuncture, massage, tai chi chuan, homeopathy, and flower remedies. The sample consisted of 22,415 individuals, 69.5% of whom were women, with a mean age of 28.8 years (SD= 9.1). The most commonly used practices were massage and yoga and the variables sex, age, income, and psychopathological diagnosis throughout life were associated with all practices, except tai chi chuan. The inferential analysis relied on logistic regressions and results were calculated based on the odd ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Adaptive manifestations of psychological traits and types were associated with greater use of complementary and alternative medicine practices. Results suggested that profiles with greater emotional regulation tend to use CAM more frequently and possibly obtain benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Determine the attitudes and practices toward complementary, alternative and traditional medicine in patients of internal medicine service at the Hospital Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid. Republic of Panama. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study. The universe was comprised of 630 patients. The sample size was 239 patients with a confidence level of 95%, selected by systematic random sampling. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire survey type using the technique of self-application. Results: A 65.2% (161) patients in this study were female. Most of the patients had ever used in your life some of these medicines. We found that the most used type of therapy were the herbs with a 73.7% (129). It was also observed that the gastrointestinal disorders (46.3%) were the major reason for use. 40.6% of patients did not notify their doctor that they were using some of these drugs. Conclusion: The patients enrolled in this study practiced with recurrence some therapies of complementary, alternative and traditional medicine. The attitudes that they present are positive regarding these kind of medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the cities of Lima and Callao (Peru) it is unknown the type of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that are in use, as well as how, who and where are applied. Objectives: To identify the activities related to the practice and type of CAM in Lima and Callao (Peru). Methods: It was used electronic media advertising (Internet) and Local Business Search, using the keywords: complementary and alternative medicine, chiropractic, homeopathy, reiki, naturopathy, reflexology, Shiatsu, herbal medicine, massage, and acupuncture. In the data collection it was considered the following information of every establishment: name, address, telephone number, district, therapies applied, origin (Ministry of health, EsSalud, private) documents that support its operation and the person in charge. Results: 154 establishments that apply CAM were identified, of which 148 (98.6%) correspond to Lima and 6 (1.4%) to Callao. The following are the most applied type of therapies: massage therapy [66], acupuncture [36], chiropractic [35], reflexology [35], phytotherapy [23], floral therapy [23], Shiatsu [23], reiki [18], homeopathy [17], mind-body [13], aromatherapy [11] and neural therapy [10]. Additionally, from the 154 establishments that apply CAM, 96 of them did not report the person in charge, only 60 mentioned who is the responsible, of which doctors [31] constitute the largest group followed by the therapists [22]. It was also found that 107 of the 154 establishments were private sector companies and were distributed mostly in Miraflores, San Isidro and Surco. Conclusions: There are 154 establishments that apply CAM in Lima and Callao (Peru), more than 90% of them are private. In 94 (61%) of these 154 establishments it is unknown who is responsible for applying the CAM, which may indicate limitations on the efficacy, safety and quality of this practice. Massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and the reflexology are the type of CAM mostly used in the 154 establishments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory syndrome of airways, in which different cells and their mediators play a role originating damage clinically expressed by recurrent respiratory symptoms. Current therapy of asthma is focused to reduce airway inflammation, diminishing long-term bronchial hyperactivity and rescue treatment (when required). Unfortunately, the failure of current therapies of asthma has increased the number of patients searching for approximations in complementary and alternative medicine. Scientific evidence is still scarce for establishing that alternative medicine is more effective than placebo in asthma. However, this does not mean that it is ineffective, maybe more multicentric clinical assays are needed, with methodological rigor, to establish final conclusions of efficacy and safety of complementary medicine. Thus, until such results are available, it is better to be skeptical and not to recommend acupuncture for asthma treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Mexico, it is estimated that about the 80% of the population use herbal medicine for the relief of their diseases. In people suffering from chronic and incurable affections, the use of this form of medicine has been documented. Since pain is a suffering that fulfills these characteristics, it is possible that in this kind of individuals such a trend can be identified. There are few reports about this custom in the male population. Because of this reason, the objective of the present study consists of evaluating such trends in men suffering from pain. Material and methods: It was performed a pilot, descriptive, and transversal study on 35 individuals. The evaluation instrument was applied by means of a direct interview, gathering information about the subjects' demographic characteristics (age group, marital status, and years of study), frequency in herbal medicine consumption (sometime in their lifetime, during the last month or week), and the kind of herbal medicine used. Results: Twenty-five interviews were completed ad integrum and they were susceptible of analysis; observing that the 96% of the subjects had consumed herbal medicine sometime in their life. In herbal medicine consumers, 25 different compounds were obtained, being chamomile the most frequent ingredient (14%). Conclusions: This data suggests that herbal medicine consumption is a common practice and that a wide range of compounds is usually employed. Nevertheless, additional studies on a larger number of people are required in order to evaluate the use of ACM (Alternative and Complementary Medicine) accurately in diverse population groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]