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Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been associated with adverse effects and self-imposed dietary restrictions. The prevalence of its use in Asian children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence, types, and factors a...

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Main Authors: Ong, Fangyi, Lee, Way Seah, Lin, Charlotte, Ng, Ruey Terng, Wong, Shin Yee, Lim, Su Lin, Quak, Seng Hock, Aw, Marion Margaret
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2018
Subjects:
R Medicine
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/21071/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedneo.2017.12.007
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spelling my.um.eprints.210712019-04-25T02:59:06Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/21071/ Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia Ong, Fangyi Lee, Way Seah Lin, Charlotte Ng, Ruey Terng Wong, Shin Yee Lim, Su Lin Quak, Seng Hock Aw, Marion Margaret R Medicine Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been associated with adverse effects and self-imposed dietary restrictions. The prevalence of its use in Asian children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence, types, and factors associated with the use of CAM among children with IBD from Singapore and Malaysia, and to ascertain if dietary restriction was prevalent in patients who used CAM. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which parents of children with IBD attending two tertiary pediatric IBD referral centres in Singapore and Malaysia were interviewed. Data about demographics, conventional treatment, complementary therapies and dietary patterns were collected in a questionnaire. Results: Of 64 children with IBD interviewed, 83% (n = 53) reported the use of CAM (Singapore [90%] vs. Malaysia [76%]; p = 0.152). The median number of CAM agents used was two (range 1–10). The three most common types of CAM used were probiotics (64%), vitamin and mineral supplements (55%), and food-based therapies (36%). Among individual CAM categories, the use of food-based therapies was correlated significantly with nationality (r = 0.497, p < 0.001), history of weight loss due to IBD (r = 0.340, p = 0.013) and avoidance of certain foods to prevent a relapse (r = 0.289, p = 0.036). Parents who rated their child's disease activity as more severe were less likely to use CAM (r = −0.257, p = 0.041). Fifty-nine percent of CAM users reported physician awareness of their CAM use. The overall self-perceived efficacy of CAM in improving IBD symptoms was 34%. Of the dietary patterns explored, only intake of dairy products was associated with CAM use (r = 0.306, p = 0.019). Conclusion: Use of CAM is prevalent in children with IBD in Malaysia and Singapore. Further studies to elucidate reasons influencing CAM use, dietary patterns and efficacy of commonly used CAM would be required. Elsevier 2018 Article PeerReviewed Ong, Fangyi and Lee, Way Seah and Lin, Charlotte and Ng, Ruey Terng and Wong, Shin Yee and Lim, Su Lin and Quak, Seng Hock and Aw, Marion Margaret (2018) Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia. Pediatrics & Neonatology, 59 (5). pp. 494-500. ISSN 1875-9572 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedneo.2017.12.007 doi:10.1016/j.pedneo.2017.12.007
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic R Medicine
spellingShingle R Medicine
Ong, Fangyi
Lee, Way Seah
Lin, Charlotte
Ng, Ruey Terng
Wong, Shin Yee
Lim, Su Lin
Quak, Seng Hock
Aw, Marion Margaret
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia
description Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been associated with adverse effects and self-imposed dietary restrictions. The prevalence of its use in Asian children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence, types, and factors associated with the use of CAM among children with IBD from Singapore and Malaysia, and to ascertain if dietary restriction was prevalent in patients who used CAM. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which parents of children with IBD attending two tertiary pediatric IBD referral centres in Singapore and Malaysia were interviewed. Data about demographics, conventional treatment, complementary therapies and dietary patterns were collected in a questionnaire. Results: Of 64 children with IBD interviewed, 83% (n = 53) reported the use of CAM (Singapore [90%] vs. Malaysia [76%]; p = 0.152). The median number of CAM agents used was two (range 1–10). The three most common types of CAM used were probiotics (64%), vitamin and mineral supplements (55%), and food-based therapies (36%). Among individual CAM categories, the use of food-based therapies was correlated significantly with nationality (r = 0.497, p < 0.001), history of weight loss due to IBD (r = 0.340, p = 0.013) and avoidance of certain foods to prevent a relapse (r = 0.289, p = 0.036). Parents who rated their child's disease activity as more severe were less likely to use CAM (r = −0.257, p = 0.041). Fifty-nine percent of CAM users reported physician awareness of their CAM use. The overall self-perceived efficacy of CAM in improving IBD symptoms was 34%. Of the dietary patterns explored, only intake of dairy products was associated with CAM use (r = 0.306, p = 0.019). Conclusion: Use of CAM is prevalent in children with IBD in Malaysia and Singapore. Further studies to elucidate reasons influencing CAM use, dietary patterns and efficacy of commonly used CAM would be required.
format Article
author Ong, Fangyi
Lee, Way Seah
Lin, Charlotte
Ng, Ruey Terng
Wong, Shin Yee
Lim, Su Lin
Quak, Seng Hock
Aw, Marion Margaret
author_facet Ong, Fangyi
Lee, Way Seah
Lin, Charlotte
Ng, Ruey Terng
Wong, Shin Yee
Lim, Su Lin
Quak, Seng Hock
Aw, Marion Margaret
author_sort Ong, Fangyi
title Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia
title_short Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia
title_full Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia
title_fullStr Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore and Malaysia
title_sort complementary and alternative medicine (cam) practices and dietary patterns in children with inflammatory bowel disease in singapore and malaysia
publisher Elsevier
publishDate 2018
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/21071/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedneo.2017.12.007
_version_ 1643691458369159168
score 13.211869

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