Socio-demographic and medical correlates of the use of biologically based complementary and alternative medicines amongst recent Australian cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE Describe the socio-demographic/medical correlates of the use of biologically based complementary and alternative medicines (BBCAM) amongst a heterogeneous sample of recent cancer survivors. METHOD Cross-sectional analysis was undertaken on the baseline data of a population-based longitudinal study conducted in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia (2006-2008) of cancer survivors 6 months post diagnosis. Participants (n=1323) completed a self-report survey assessing socio-demographic/medical characteristics and use of BBCAM (dietary supplements or vitamins, herbal treatments, and special diets). RESULTS Twenty-seven percent of respondents (n=349) reported using at least one BBCAM to help manage their cancer and related symptoms. Nutritional supplements and vitamins were the most commonly reported BBCAM (23%). Correlates of BBCAM use included cancer type (bowel [OR=3.3; CI:1.8-5.9], breast [OR=2.4; CI:1.4-4.1], head and neck [OR=3.8; CI: 2.0-7.2], haematological [OR=2.0; CI: 1.1-3.7], prostate [OR=1.8; CI: 1.0-3.9] versus melanoma), education level (university degree [OR=1.6; CI:1.1-2.3] versus secondary school) and treatment types (chemotherapy [OR=2.0; CI:1.4-2.7] versus not, bone marrow/stem cell transplant/immunotherapy [OR=2.3; CI:1.2-4.4] versus not). CONCLUSION Providers should openly discuss the use of complementary and alternative therapies with all cancer patients, and given potential safety concerns, be proactive in exploring BBCAM use among the subgroups of survivors identified in this study.

• Publication year

  2012

• Venue

  Preventive Medicine

• Publication date

  Unknown publication date

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.10.020PMID 22100734
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Flourishing or floundering? Prevalence and correlates of anxiety and depression among a population-based sample of adult cancer survivors 6months after diagnosis.

  2011cited by this paper
• Dietary supplement use in adult cancer survivors.

  2009cited by this paper
• Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage in Singaporean adult cancer patients.

  2009cited by this paper
• Factors Related to the Use of Dietary Supplements by Cancer Survivors

  2009cited by this paper
• Use of antioxidant supplements during breast cancer treatment: a comprehensive review

  2009influential reference
• Dietary supplement use in individuals living with cancer and other chronic conditions: a population-based study.

  2008influential reference
• Antioxidant Supplements May Lessen Benefit of Radiation and Chemotherapy

  2008cited by this paper
• Dietary supplement use in cancer care: help or harm.

  2008cited by this paper
• The Use of Complementary Therapies in Cancer Patients: A Questionnaire-Based Descriptive Survey From Southeastern Turkey

  2008cited by this paper
• Vitamin and mineral supplement use among US adults after cancer diagnosis: a systematic review.

  2008influential reference
• Should supplemental antioxidant administration be avoided during chemotherapy and radiation therapy?

  2008influential reference
• Disclosure to Physicians of CAM Use by Breast Cancer Patients: Findings From the Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study

  2008influential reference
• Herbs and Other Botanicals in Cancer Patient Care

  2008cited by this paper
• Dietary supplements in patients with cancer: risks and key concepts, part 2.

  2007cited by this paper
• Antioxidants and other nutrients do not interfere with chemotherapy or radiation therapy and can increase kill and increase survival, Part 2.

  2007cited by this paper
• An investigation of the contents of complementary and alternative medicine journals.

  2007cited by this paper
• Dietary supplements in patients with cancer: risks and key concepts, part 1.

  2007cited by this paper
• Lesson From Comparison of CAM Use by Women With Female-Specific Cancers to Others: It's Time to Focus on Interaction Risks With CAM Therapies

  2007influential reference
• Patient Initiation of Complementary and Alternative Medical Therapies (CAM) Following Cancer Diagnosis

  2006influential reference
• Complementary and alternative therapeutic approaches in patients with early breast cancer: a systematic review

  2006cited by this paper
• The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine By Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy

  2006cited by this paper
• Sociodemographic Determinants of the Utilization of Specific Types of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: An Analysis Based on a Nationally Representative Survey Sample

  2005cited by this paper
• Applied Logistic Regression: Hosmer/Applied Logistic Regression

  2005cited by this paper
• Reasons for and Characteristics Associated With Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adult Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review

  2005cited by this paper
• Naturopathy/herbalism consultations by mid-aged Australian women who have cancer.

  2005influential reference
• Use of Complementary Therapies Among Breast and Prostate Cancer Patients During Treatment: A Multisite Study

  2005cited by this paper
• Exploring Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation and Purported Clinical Effects in Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results From the Mayo Clinic Lung Cancer Cohort

  2005cited by this paper
• Potential of chemotherapy–herb interactions in adult cancer patients

  2004influential reference
• The Use of Dietary Supplements by Veterans with Cancer

  2004cited by this paper
• Herbal remedies in the United States: potential adverse interactions with anticancer agents.

  2004cited by this paper
• Herbal remedies in the United States: potential adverse interactions with anticancer agents

  2004influential reference
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Treatment

  2004cited by this paper
• Changes in diet, physical activity, and supplement use among adults diagnosed with cancer.

  2003cited by this paper
• Nutrition and Physical Activity During and After Cancer Treatment: An American Cancer Society Guide for Informed Choices

  2003cited by this paper
• Consumption of nutritional supplements among adolescents: usage and perceived benefits.

  2003cited by this paper
• Types of Alternative Medicine Used by Patients with Breast, Colon, or Prostate Cancer: Predictors, Motives, and Costs

  2002influential reference
• The escalating cost and prevalence of alternative medicine.

  2002cited by this paper
• Determinants of the Degree of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Patients with Cancer

  2002cited by this paper
• Complementary and alternative medicine use among women with breast cancer.

  2002cited by this paper
• Rates of unconventional medical therapy use in patients with prostate cancer: standard history versus directed questions.

  2002cited by this paper
• Ethnic Differences in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Cancer Patients

  2000cited by this paper
• Dietary Supplement Use by Women at Risk for Breast Cancer Recurrence

  1998cited by this paper
• Dietary supplement use by women at risk for breast cancer recurrence. The Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study Group.

  1998cited by this paper
• Safety issues in herbal medicine: implications for the health professions

  1997cited by this paper

• The Self-Administered Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Supplements and Antioxidants in Cancer Therapy and the Critical Role of Nrf-2—A Systematic Review

  2022cites this paper
• Alimentation, consommation d’alcool, activité physique, prise de compléments alimentaires, variation de poids et représentations nutritionnelles : évolution avant/apres diagnostic d’un cancer

  2017cites this paper
• Prevalence and factors related to smoking and smoking cessation 6 months following a cancer diagnosis: a population-based study

  2016cites this paper
• Dietary supplement use among cancer survivors of the NutriNet-Santé cohort study

  2015cites this paper
• Dietary Supplement Use in Patients With Celiac Disease in the United States

  2015cites this paper
• Compléments alimentaires : consommation et facteurs associés en population générale et dans des groupes spécifiques, modulation du risque de cancer.

  2014cites this paper
• Prevalence and predictors of the short-term trajectory of anxiety and depression in the first year after a cancer diagnosis: a population-based longitudinal study.

  2013cites this paper
• Complementary and alternative medicine use and benefit finding among cancer patients.

  2013cites this paper
• Cancer survivors' psychosocial outcomes: a population-based investigation of anxiety, depression and unmet needs at six to twelve months post-diagnosis

  2013cites this paper
• What can we learn from Steve Jobs about complementary and alternative therapies?

  2012cites this paper
• Could Chinese herbal medicine be nephrotoxic?

  2012cites this paper
• WEBCAM: Western evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine.

  2012cites this paper