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Use of Complementary Alternative Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine among Women Attending a Menopausal-related Psychosomatic Clinic in Taiwan

Mei-Chun Hsiao, M.D.1,2 Chia-Yih Liu, M.D.1 Yi-Hsiung Lin, M.D.1,3 Yonie Lin, M.D.1,2 Tzu-Ping Huang, M.D.2 Su-Chen Wang, M.D.2 

Background:Menopausal women suffer from physical and mood symptoms mainly due to estrogen level fl uctuation. Hormone therapy (HT) has been the mainstream treatment, but East Asian societies have lower acceptance of HT and the benefi t of HT has been scrutinized harshly recently. Complementary and alternative therapy (CAM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are getting more popular. The aims of the study were to investigate the characteristics of CAM and TCM use in a menopause-related psychosomatic clinic in Taiwan. Method:This study was a cross-sectional survey of women who sought treatment at one menopause-related psychosomatic clinic in a large medical center. The studying subjects under study were woman between 40-65 years with at least one moderate to severe climacteric symptom and at least another mild symptom according to the Greene Climacteric Scale. The scores of Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale had to be over 8. Results: One hundred and three women met the inclusion criteria and 95 subjects agreed to join the study (response rate 92.2%). Among the study subjects, 86(90.5%) had used CAM. The three most common CAM used were calcium(43.2%), isofl avone (38.9%), and megavitamins (32.6%). Forty eight (48.4%) of them reported that they had used TCM in the past 6 months. The usage rate of CAM is related to higher years of education and previous use of HT. Conclusion:We found that CAM use among Asian menopausal women is quite common. The role of education about CAM or TCM and their interactions with current medications should be taken into serious consideration. Further larger sample studies are necessary, especially in the general population or healthy menopausal women, to compare the possible differences.
Key Word menopause, complementary alternative medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, hospital anxiety depression scale
Editorial Committe, Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry
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