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- Title
Herbal supplement usage among cancer patients: A questionnaire-based survey.
- Authors
Kanimozhi, Thirunavukkarasu; Hindu, Kalluru; Maheshvari, Yuvaraj; Khushnidha, Y; Kumaravel, Mahendrian; Srinivas, K; Manickavasagam, M; Mangathayaru, Kalachaveedu; Khushnidha, Y Gulab; Srinivas, K Satish
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>Herbal supplements (HS) are one of the most commonly used complementary and alternative medicines in cancer. Reduced therapeutic efficacy of prescription anticancer agents through unwarranted herb-drug interactions is a major efficacy/safety concern. In view of the rising cancer prevalence in India along with a high degree of reliance and cultural acceptability in favor of traditional medicine drugs, prevalence data exclusively of HS usage during cancer treatment are of considerable epidemiological significance.<bold>Methodology: </bold>This questionnaire-based prospective observational study aimed at estimating the prevalence of HS among cancer patients during treatment at our tertiary care medical center. Taken on a population of 220 patients within a period of 9 months, data were generated by a customized validated questionnaire and the same processed by IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version XXIV, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Differences between HS use and nonuse with respect to demographic, disease, and treatment characteristics were assessed by Chi-square test. For examining the latter variables as possible predictors of HS usage, they were entered into bivariate logistic regression with odds ratio and confidence intervals calculated for each.<bold>Results: </bold>Out of 220 patients, 57 (26%) were HS users and 163 (74%) were nonusers. Majority of the users (42.1%) were on self-prepared folklore herbal medicine postdiagnosis of cancer (57.9%), the most common reason cited being symptom palliation (35.1%) on the advice of friends and family (64.9%). Fear of disapproval was the most common reason cited (68.4%) for not disclosing HS usage to the physician.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Chemotherapy and unemployment are predictors of HS usage, and there is a significant association between occupation status and HS usage. This first study on HS prevalence among South Indian population proposes the need for a more robust evidence base for understanding all aspects of HS use in cancer.
- Subjects
NEW York (N.Y.); INDIA; CANCER patients; PATIENT surveys; DRUG-herb interactions; TERTIARY care; TRADITIONAL medicine; HERBAL medicine; DIETARY supplements; EMPLOYMENT; HEALTH attitudes; TUMORS; LONGITUDINAL method
- Publication
Journal of Cancer Research & Therapeutics, 2021, Vol 17, Issue 1, p136
- ISSN
0973-1482
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.4103/jcrt.JCRT_612_18