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Patterns of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use in children: a systematic review

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Abstract

Utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among children/adolescents is popular. This review summarizes the international findings for prevalence and predictors of CAM use among children/adolescents. We therefore systematically searched four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, AMED; last update in 07/2013) and reference lists of existing reviews and all included studies. Publications without language restriction reporting patterns of CAM utilization among children/adolescents without chronic conditions were selected for inclusion. The prevalence rates for overall CAM use, homeopathy, and herbal drug use were extracted with a focus on country and recall period (lifetime, 1 year, current use). As predictors, we extracted socioeconomic factors, child’s age, and gender. The database search and citation tracking yielded 58 eligible studies from 19 countries. There was strong variation regarding study quality. Prevalence rates for overall CAM use ranged from 10.9–87.6 % for lifetime use and from 8–48.5 % for current use. The respective percentages for homeopathy (highest in Germany, United Kingdom, and Canada) ranged from 0.8–39 % (lifetime) and from 1–14.3 % (current). Herbal drug use (highest in Germany, Turkey, and Brazil) was reported for 0.8–85.5 % (lifetime) and 2.2–8.9 % (current) of the children/adolescents. Studies provided a relatively uniform picture of the predictors of overall CAM use (higher parental income and education, older children), but only a few studies analyzed predictors for single CAM modalities. Conclusion: CAM use is widespread among children/adolescents. Prevalence rates vary widely regarding CAM modality, country, and reported recall period.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Munich Center of Health Sciences (MC-Health) at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München. The authors want to thank Prof. Helmut Brand, Professor of European Public Health at Maastricht University, for his contribution and support. In addition, we would like to thank PD Dr. Björn Stollenwerk and Dr. Matthias Hunger for their statistical advice and support.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Salvatore Italia

  2. Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Salvatore Italia, Silke Britta Wolfenstetter & Christina Maria Teuner

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  1. Salvatore Italia
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Italia, S., Wolfenstetter, S.B. & Teuner, C.M. Patterns of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use in children: a systematic review. Eur J Pediatr 173, 1413–1428 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-014-2300-z

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