Alternative medicine for rare bone diseases & osteoporosis

Alternative medicine for rare bone diseases & osteoporosis

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (cam) has become increasingly popular. However, there is little data regarding the spread of CAM in patients with rare bone diseases (RBDS). A current study, carried out in a reference hospital for RBDS, aimed to close this gap. They compared the use of CAM among RBD patients with those suffering from osteoporosis (opo) and with healthy control persons (con).

The results showed that treatments by naturopathic artists/healers in the RBD group were significantly more common than with the OPO patients and the con. More than half of the OPO and Con reported about taking vitamins/minerals last year, while this was the case in less than half of the RBD patients. It was also shown that individuals with higher education tend to see a cam provider.

The most common forms of CAM among RBD patients were herbal medicine, vitamins and mineral supplements as well as self-help techniques. Nevertheless, the general use of cam in this patient group was low.

These findings could have important implications for future research and the practical treatment of patients with rare bone diseases. On the one hand, this could lead to a greater integration of CAM into treatment strategies, especially in cases where traditional medication may not be sufficiently effective. On the other hand, this could promote the development of specific guidelines for the use of CAM in these special patient groups.

Basic terms and concepts:

• complementary and alternative medicine (cam): a term that refers to a wide range of health approaches and therapies that are outside conventional, western medicine.
• rare bone diseases (RBDS): A group of diseases that affect the bones and rarely occur, such as osteogenesis imperfecta, hypophosphatasia and x-chromosomal hypophosphatemia.
• osteoporosis (opo): A disease in which the bones lose density, become weaker and there is an increased risk of fractures.
• control group (con): A group of people without the condition or illness to be examined, which serves as a comparison group in studies.

This study provides a valuable insight into the use of CAM among patients with rare bone diseases and suggests that despite the growing popularity of CAM, whose use is still limited in these patients. Future research could help identify potential barriers and find ways to integrate cam more effectively into the treatment plans of this patient group.

Use of cam in patients with rare bone diseases

Summary of the research results : The study showed that patients with rare bone diseases (RBDS) have different patterns in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (cam) compared to osteoporosis patients (opo) and healthy control persons (COM). In particular, treatments by alternative practitioners/healers in the RBD group were more common. In addition, taking vitamins and minerals in opo and Con participants was more common than with RBD patients. The level of education had a significant influence on the probability of using CAM services.

methodology

The study carried out a cross -sectional examination in a reference hospital for rare bone diseases. 50 patients with RBDS (average age 48.8 ± 15.9 years; 26% male), 51 OPO patients (average age 66.6 ± 10.0 years; 9.8% male) and 52 healthy control persons (average age 50.8 ± 16.3 years; 26.9% male). The German version of the i-cam questionnaire (i-cam-g).

results

• treatments by naturopaths or healers were more common in the RBD group with 11.4%than in the groups opo (0%) and con (5.8%), with this difference to the limit to the statistical significance (p = 0.06).
• More than half of the OPO (60.8%) and Con (63.5%) participants reported on the intake of vitamins/minerals in the past 12 months, compared to 46%in the RBD group (p = 0.16).
• Participant with a higher level of education showed a significantly higher probability (ODDS ratio 2.64; 95% CI: 1.04-6.70; p = 0.04) to use any form of CAM services.
• opo patients used significantly less often self-help techniques compared to the Con group (OR = 0.42; 95% CI: 0.19-0.95; p = 0.04).

conclusions

The study shows that patients with rare bone diseases use cam differently than osteoporosis patients and healthy control persons, whereby vegetable medicine, vitamins, minerals and self-help techniques were particularly common. However, the general use of CAM in this patient group was low. The results underline the need for further research on the role of cam in the treatment of rare bone diseases.

Further information on the study can be found at: pubmed .