Traditional and Complementary/Alternative Medicine (TCAM)in medical theses (1991-2006)

Objective (s): To assess TCAM in medical theses during the recent 15 years in medical schools of Tehran, Iran. All medical theses in 4 main medical schools (Iran, Shahid Beheshti, Shahed and Tehran medical schools) registered during 1991-2006 were assessed to find subjects related to TCAM. Theses were evaluated regarding the type of study, grade/ specialty of author and type of TCAM. In all, 28344 medical theses have been registered during the study period. Of these, 110 theses (3.88 per 1000) were related to TCAM. There was a statistically significant increasing trend in the proportion of TCAM subjects (P<0.001, X2 for trends=42.7). Among the TCAM studies, 37.3 percent were related to clinical aspects. The proportion of clinical topics was significantly higher for specialized degrees than the general medicine (P<0.001). Even though there was an increasing trend during recent years, the proportion of TCAM subjects was relatively low. Re-orienting medical students could play an important role in increasing the production of scientific evidences on the topic.