The use of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine in Chinese adolescents and young adults patients with cancer: a multi-center study
Refereed conference paper presented and published in conference proceedings
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AbstractIntroduction:
Adolescent and young adults (AYA) patients with cancer often experience unique physical and psychosocial complications. In addition to conventional medicines, they may turn to traditional, complementary and integrative medicines (TCIM) to address these concerns. This study examined the pattern of TCIM use among AYA patients with cancer.
Methods:
Between Aug 2021 and Dec 2022, patients diagnosed with cancer between 15-39 years old were recruited from two public hospitals in HK. They completed a structured questionnaire on TCIM use, sociodemographic data, symptom burden (Rotterdam Symptoms Checklist), and psychological status (Brief System Inventory). Clinical data were extracted from medical charts. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of TCIM use, adjusting for age and sex.
Results:
We recruited 238 patients (59.7% female; mean age=32.9 years). Overall, 60.5% reported TCIM use, most commonly vitamins (23.9%) and Chinese herbal medicine (23.1%) (Table 1). The most common reasons for using TCIM were to improve general health and immune system (71.5%), manage chronic symptoms (32.6%) and reduce chemotherapy side effects (16.0%). Only a minority (37.5%) of TCIM users informed their clinicians before using TCIM. TCIM users reported more physical symptoms (19.8 vs 17.6) and psychological symptoms (24.8 vs 18.7) than non-users (p<0.001). Female sex, older age, religiosity and higher socioeconomic status were associated with TCIM use (p’s<0.05). Among patients on active treatment (n=117), TCIM users tend to report higher anxiety symptoms than non-users (aOR=1.12, 95%CI=1.01-1.27). For patients who had completed treatment (n=120), TCIM users were more likely to have chronic comorbidities (aOR=4.06, 95%CI=1.39-14.9).
Conclusions:
The use of TCIM is common among AYA patients with cancer, especially among patients with high physical and psychological symptom burden during active treatment. Future work should also explore the use of TCIM in managing chronic symptoms/conditions among AYA survivors.
Adolescent and young adults (AYA) patients with cancer often experience unique physical and psychosocial complications. In addition to conventional medicines, they may turn to traditional, complementary and integrative medicines (TCIM) to address these concerns. This study examined the pattern of TCIM use among AYA patients with cancer.
Methods:
Between Aug 2021 and Dec 2022, patients diagnosed with cancer between 15-39 years old were recruited from two public hospitals in HK. They completed a structured questionnaire on TCIM use, sociodemographic data, symptom burden (Rotterdam Symptoms Checklist), and psychological status (Brief System Inventory). Clinical data were extracted from medical charts. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of TCIM use, adjusting for age and sex.
Results:
We recruited 238 patients (59.7% female; mean age=32.9 years). Overall, 60.5% reported TCIM use, most commonly vitamins (23.9%) and Chinese herbal medicine (23.1%) (Table 1). The most common reasons for using TCIM were to improve general health and immune system (71.5%), manage chronic symptoms (32.6%) and reduce chemotherapy side effects (16.0%). Only a minority (37.5%) of TCIM users informed their clinicians before using TCIM. TCIM users reported more physical symptoms (19.8 vs 17.6) and psychological symptoms (24.8 vs 18.7) than non-users (p<0.001). Female sex, older age, religiosity and higher socioeconomic status were associated with TCIM use (p’s<0.05). Among patients on active treatment (n=117), TCIM users tend to report higher anxiety symptoms than non-users (aOR=1.12, 95%CI=1.01-1.27). For patients who had completed treatment (n=120), TCIM users were more likely to have chronic comorbidities (aOR=4.06, 95%CI=1.39-14.9).
Conclusions:
The use of TCIM is common among AYA patients with cancer, especially among patients with high physical and psychological symptom burden during active treatment. Future work should also explore the use of TCIM in managing chronic symptoms/conditions among AYA survivors.
All Author(s) ListChung Tin Justin Ma, Chun Sing Lam, Can Heng Li, Cho Lee Jojo Wong, Chi Kong Li, Herbert Ho-Fung Loong,
Ho Kee Koon, Yin Ting Cheung
Ho Kee Koon, Yin Ting Cheung
Name of ConferenceMultinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC)/ Japanese Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (JASCC)/ International Society of Oral Oncology (ISOO) Annual Meeting 2023
Start Date of Conference22/06/2023
End Date of Conference24/06/2023
Place of ConferenceNara
Country/Region of ConferenceJapan
Proceedings TitleJournal of Supportive Care in Cancer
Year2023
Month6
Volume Number31
PublisherSpringer
Pages263 - 264
LanguagesEnglish-United States
Keywordsadolescent and young adult; cancer; Chinese; complementary medicine; integrative medicine; traditional medicine
