Young people who have juvenile arthritis report a high rate of use of complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies; however, few of them discuss their use of CAM therapies with their physicians.
For this study, 134 adolescents with juvenile arthritis completed an online survey of their use of, interest in, and discussions about CAM, according to an abstract published on www.pubmed.gov. Among the results:
• 72 percent of youth reported using at least one CAM modality
• Use did not differ by gender, age, race, or geographic location
• The most commonly used CAM modalities were yoga (45 percent) and meditation, relaxation, or guided imagery (40 percent)
• Nonusers were most interested in learning more about massage (79 percent) and yoga (57 percent)
“Only 46 percent of youth reported discussing CAM with a health care provider,” the researchers noted. “Findings suggest practitioners should engage adolescents in discussions about CAM.”
The research was completed by investigators at the Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, from Elsevier.