Use of complementary and alternative medicine treatments by patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To assess the proportion of patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) reporting previous or current use and interest in future use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. DESIGN Cross-sectional, point-of-care, anonymous survey. SETTING Sleep disorders center at a Midwest tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS Six hundred forty-six consecutive patients undergoing polysomnography. MEASUREMENTS The survey instrument comprised 45 items specifically related to CAM therapies, in addition to obtaining baseline data. RESULTS Response rate was 81% (522/646). A total of 406/522 (78%) patients were diagnosed with OSAHS. Mean age +/- SD was 57 +/- 14 years, and 267 participants (66%) were men. Overall, 237 (58%) participants reported ever using CAM. Ever and current CAM use specifically for improving sleep was reported by 20% and 7% of the participants, respectively. Twenty-six percent of participants reported ever using biologic products, and 52% reported ever using nonbiologic CAM treatments. A high proportion (58%) of the participants showed interest in future CAM use for improving sleep. CONCLUSION A high proportion of patients with OSAHS report previous or current use, and interest in future use, of CAM treatments. This underscores the need to conduct further research in this field.

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