Charité study Older people use naturopathy

Complementary medicine is well received in the older generation

04/10/2014

Complementary medicine approaches are extremely popular among senior citizens in Germany, according to a recent report by the „Carstens Foundation: Fördergemeinschaft Natur und Medizin“ supported, cross-sectional study of the Berlin Charité. In the older generation, many would know the home remedies from their childhood and therefore trust them until today, reports the „Carstens Foundation“. For the first time, the current survey for Germany provides comprehensive data on the use of complementary medicine for senior citizens.

According to the information provided by the Foundation „Complementary medicine has a long tradition in Germany“, So far, however, has not been comprehensively collected, how strong and in what form complementary medicine and naturopathy actually apply. With funding from the „Carstens Foundation“ The Berlin Charité has now at least partially closed this gap. More than 800 adults over the age of 70 from Berlin and Brandenburg were interviewed in a cross-sectional study on the use of complementary medical methods and resources. The result shows how popular naturopathy actually is among seniors. However, in most cases they did not rely exclusively on alternative treatments, but used them as a supplement to conventional therapy.

Dietary supplements and herbal remedies particularly popular
According to the announcement of the „Carstens Foundation“ The graduate-Med. pedagogue Katharina Schnabel and her colleagues from the Charité interviewed senior citizens in different living conditions for the study in order to cover the widest possible social spectrum. So besides being self-employed, living alone seniors, too „Home care users and residents in nursing homes“ been contacted. „There was a demand for the use of all natural products and procedures that were taken for medical purposes, from herbal medicines to teas and juices“, the foundation reports. Overall, almost two-thirds of senior citizens (61.3 percent) had used a form of complementary medicine, with dietary supplements such as vitamins and minerals being the top priority (35.5 percent use them). Herbal medicines (33.3 percent) and external applications (26.8 percent) also enjoyed relatively high popularity. Of the users, 58.7 percent reported a positive effect of complementary medicine. Nevertheless, would „Most seniors (64.9 percent) use a combination of complementary and conventional medicine“ prefer the message of the Foundation.

Threatening interactions with conventional drugs
However, the high popularity of complementary medicine also has a downside, because it can theoretically interactions with other drugs occur and many seniors (58.7 percent) do not inform their doctor about the self-employed complementary medicine. In addition, know „more than half of the users (57.9 percent) do not know if and what interactions could cause the drugs with conventional drugs“, reports the „Carstens Foundation“. Here sees Dr. Michael Teut from the research team of the Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics of the Berlin Charité „a problem, because an adult over the age of 70 already gets up to five different conventional medications prescribed by the doctor.“ According to the doctor, are there „Interactions with natural resources possible.“ This is how the current study results would show, „how urgently the co-operation between conventional and complementary medicine must take place.“ For example, could „A comprehensive reimbursement of complementary medical resources and procedures in statutory health insurance defuse this problem“, explains the „Carstens Foundation“. For that would include the use of alternative funds in the statistics and would be better visible to family doctors. (Fp)

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