Complementary alternative medicine in rheumatologic diseases; data from outpatient clinics in Yazd, Iran

Introduction: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a treatment modality that is not part of conventional and standard medical treatment and are used along with the conventional therapies. Nowadays, complementary alternative medicine is used by many patients around the world. This study discussed the prevalence of different types of complementary and alternative medicine used among patients attending the rheumatology clinics in Yazd. Materials and Methods: 350 patients who referred to rheumatology clinics in Yazd, Iran, were included in a cross sectional study over 17 weeks. The patients were at least 20 years old with known rheumatology disorder lasting at least for three months. Results: Of the total 350 patients, 71 (20.3%) were male and 279 (79.7%) were female. 235 (67.1%) patients used CAM. The mean age of patients who used CAM was 46.8 years. Use of CAM was higher in females compared to males. (82.2% vs. 17.8%). Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, low back pain, osteoarthritis had more predilections for using CAM. Herbal medicine, restricted diet and hydrotherapy were the most used modalities. The most reasons for using different types of CAM were positive history for their effectiveness and usefulness as complementary to other methods of treatment. Conclusion: Using CAM among r heumat ol ogic pat ient s in Ir an (Yazd pr ovince) is r eal ly pr eval ent among educated, high income, married and upper age people. The most used CAM methods were herbals, restricted diet and hydrotherapy.