Data from: Complementary and alternative asthma treatments and their association with asthma control: a population-based study

Objectives: Many patients with asthma spend time and resources consuming
complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs). This study explores
whether CAM utilization is associated with asthma control and the intake
of asthma controller medications. Design: Population-based, prospective
cross-sectional study Setting: general population residing in two census
areas in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Recruitment was based
on random-digit dialing of both landlines and cell phones. Participants:
486 patients with self-reported physician-diagnosis of asthma (mean age 52
years; 67.3% female). Primary and secondary outcome measures: We assessed
CAM use over the previous 12 months, level of asthma control as defined by
the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the self-reported intake of
controller medications. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to
study the relationship between any usage of CAMs (outcome), asthma control
and controller medication usage, adjusted for potential confounders.
Results: A total of 179 (36.8%) of the sample reported CAM usage in the
past 12 months. Breathing exercises (17.7%), herbal medicines (10.1%), and
vitamins (9.7%) were the most popular CAMs reported. After adjustment,
female sex (OR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.09-2.52) and uncontrolled asthma( vs.
controlled asthma, OR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.30-3.89) were associated with a
higher likelihood of using any CAMs in the past 12 months. Controller
medication use was not associated with CAM usage in general and in the
subgroups defined by asthma control. Conclusion: Clinicians and policy
makers need to be aware of the high prevalence of CAM use in patients with
asthma and its association with lack of asthma control.