Complementary and Alternative Therapy Use in Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Survey

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to document the use of alternative and complementary therapy (ACT) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and the relationship with socio-demographic characteristics and clinical data of the ACT users. METHODS: We evaluated 101 MS patients followed in our outpatient clinic and living in Eagean district, mostly in central İzmir. All of them completed a questionnaire related to the use of ACT. Patients who had used any type of ACT were statistically compared with patients who had never used such a treatment in terms of their socio-demographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: Of the 101 patients reviewed, 65% were women. The majority of the patients had relapsing-remitting MS (90.1%). Sixty eight percent of participants reported never using ACT. Twenty six of the patients had tried an alternative treatment once. Only half of them reported some benefit. However, only six patients were still on this treatment. CONCLUSION: We conclude that our patients who were mostly living in the central city and had medium to high educational levels, did not have knowledge about ACT. The patients using such therapies mostly did not experience a meaningful benefit. No statistically meaningful difference was found between the alternative treatment users and non-users regarding EDSS scores, MS subtype, disease duration, age, educational level and residential district