Intest Res.  2022 Apr;20(2):192-202. 10.5217/ir.2020.00150.

Perspectives of East Asian patients and physicians on complementary and alternative medicine use for inflammatory bowel disease: results of a cross-sectional, multinational study

• Kim ES
• Tae CH
• Jung SA
• Park DI
• Im JP
• Eun CS
• Yoon H
• Jang BI
• Ogata H
• Fukuhara K
• Hirai F
• Ohtsuka K
• Liu J
• Cao Q
• on behalf of the Clinical Research Committee of the Asian Organization for Crohn’s and Colitis

• KMID: 2529565
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2020.00150

Abstract

Background/Aims
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is prevalent in East Asia. However, information on CAM in East Asian patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is scarce. We aimed to profile the prevalence and pattern of CAM use among East Asian IBD patients and to identify factors associated with CAM use. We also compared physicians’ perspectives on CAM.
Methods
Patients with IBD from China, Japan, and South Korea were invited to complete questionnaires on CAM use. Patient demographic and clinical data were collected. Logistic regression analysis was applied for predictors of CAM use. Physicians from each country were asked about their opinion on CAM services or products.
Results
Overall, 905 patients with IBD participated in this study (China 232, Japan 255, and South Korea 418). Approximately 8.6% of patients with IBD used CAM services for their disease, while 29.7% of patients sought at least 1 kind of CAM product. Current active disease and Chinese or South Korean nationality over Japanese were independent predictors of CAM use. Chinese doctors were more likely to consider CAM helpful for patients with IBD than were Japanese and South Korean doctors.
Conclusions
In 8.6% and 29.7% of East Asian patients with IBD used CAM services and products, respectively, which does not differ from the prevalence in their Western counterparts. There is a significant gap regarding CAM usage among different Asian countries, not only from the patients’ perspective but also from the physicians’ point of view.

Keyword

Complementary and alternative medicine; Inflammatory bowel disease; East Asia

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. The prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine service (A) and product (B) usage among patients with inflammatory bowel disease from 3 countries. The P-value is for the analysis of variance and was adjusted for physicians’ age and sex and the hospital type. aP<0.05, bP<0.01, cP<0.001.

• 

  Fig. 2. Comparison of physicians’ perspectives on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services (A) and products (B) for inflammatory bowel disease among 3 countries. The width of the box indicates the sample size of participants from each country. The P-value was calculated using the pairwise Wilcoxon rank-sum test after adjustment for physicians’ age and sex and the hospital type. aP<0.05, bP<0.001. NS, not significant.

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