Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Its Determinant Factors in Iranian Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are the most common chronic diseases with a high global burden of disease. Today, the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has become more popular. In general, in developing countries, easy access and low cost of traditional medicine, and in developed countries, more access to health information, the prevalence of old age and the increase in chronic diseases are the reasons for this increasing use of traditional medicine. This study aimed to determine the rate and pattern of CAM used and their relationships with demographic characteristics among asthmatic and COPD patients. This research was a cross-sectional study performed on asthma and COPD patients (n=357) referring to the Pulmonary Diseases affiliated with Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran from 2019 to 2020. Data were collected by using semi-structured questionnaires including open and closed questions and face-to-face interviews. Three hundred and thirty-nine patients (95%) used at least one type of CAM in the last year of study. About half of the patients (49.9%) used more than two types of CAM during the last 12 months. Three hundred and four patients (85.2%) used medicinal plants. Few patients reported with the use of CAM to their physician or health care providers (16.1%, 12.5%, and 16.7% of the users of medicinal plants, bloodletting, and dry cupping respectively). Relatives and friends (77.9%) were with the most common sources of recommendation of CAM to the patients. The present study showed the high prevalence of using different types of CAM, especially herbal medicines in Iranian asthmatic and COPD patients. The main incentive for using CAM was for friends and family members, not health care providers. The use of CAM is associated with age patients age, family size, habitat, education, and occupation.