24 Feb Most Patients Who Use Homeopathic Remedies Self Prescribe Them For Colds and Pain

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Michelle Dossett

Michelle Dossett, MD, PhD, MPH
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital 

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Dossett: In 2015 the FDA and FTC held public hearings on the regulation and advertising, respectively, of homeopathic drug products.  Among their questions, they were curious about the use and public perceptions of these products.  However, there is little data available to answer these questions.  Every 5 years, the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the NIH team up to survey Americans about their use of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) modalities.  We analyzed data from the 2012 survey to address some of the questions raised by the FDA and FTC.

We found that 2.1% of U.S. adults had used homeopathic products within the past year, however, only 19% had seen a practitioner for homeopathic therapy.  The most common health complaints that homeopathic products were used to address included head and chest colds and other respiratory and otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) complaints.

The second most common category of conditions these products were used for was musculoskeletal pain such as muscle and joint pain.  Intriguingly, people who used homeopathic products were more likely to find them helpful for a health condition than supplement users found their use of supplements.  Moreover, homeopathy users who saw a practitioner were more likely to find that it helped their health problem “a great deal” than those who did not.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Dossett: Among complementary and integrative medicine therapies used in the U.S., use of homeopathy remains relatively uncommon.  Most users purchase products available over-the-counter and use them for non-serious, self-limited complaints, which is reassuring.  Many users report some benefit from these products.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Dossett: One of the limitations of our study was the small number of homeopathy users overall.  A targeted study of homeopathy users would provide further details on the types of conditions being treated, specific products used, and permit better evaluation of efficacy.  Additional randomized controlled trials in this field would be helpful as well.  Finally, there are some preliminary studies examining possible mechanisms by which homeopathic medicines may work, but further research in this area is also needed.

Citation:

Michelle Dossett, MD, PhD, MPH (2016). Most Patients Who Use Homeopathic Remedies Self Prescribe Them For Colds and Pain 

Last Updated on February 24, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD