Alternative medicine in a sample of 655 community-dwelling elderly

Objective: Use and satisfaction with herbal/homeopathic remedies, acupunctu re and relaxation techniques were examined in an Italian elderly population . Methods: Data were collected as part of a survey on an elderly population , conducted in 1996-1997 in the urban centre of Padua, Italy. A total of 13 62 elderly received a letter inviting them to participate and to accept the visit of an interviewer at home. Of these, 212 were unable to do so for in surmountable reasons and 666 gave consent to take part in the study with a response rate of 65%. Eleven participants were excluded from the study beca use cognitively impaired. Results: Among the 655 respondents, overall use o f at least one alternative medicine was 29.5%. Herbs/phytotherapeutics (47% ) and acupuncture (34%) were the most frequently cited therapies. The use o f alternative medical practices seems rather widespread among the elderly p opulation in Padua, especially among females with depressive symptoms, pain and discomfort, but not suffering from chronic somatic disease. A percenta ge of 3.7% of the sample used exclusively alternative medicines; those subj ects seemed to be younger, less likely to be physically ill and to report f unctional disorders and chronic somatic disease. Conclusion: Alternative me dicines seem to have a complementary role for the elderly with self-perceiv ed psychological symptomatology or disorders, particularly of depressive na ture. They may constitute an attempt at self-treatment, probably concealing the difficulties encountered by the elderly subjects in seeking specialist advice for these problems. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reser ved.