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Research: POWER and co-workers, Dep
Listed in Issue 89
Abstract
POWER and co-workers, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5718, USA, rpower@leland.stanford.edu, review (70 references) the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in HIV. Outcome studies on the efficacy of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments in people living with HIV-AIDS are often of inferior quality: sample sizes are typically small, there is little follow-up and few time points, participants drop out at high rates. Several studies have been conducted that include control groups, double-blinded designs and randomization. These studies have yielded promising results for CAM treatment of HIV-AIDS, and further research with larger samples in a prospective research design are urgently needed. Many of the small studies reported trends – again, sample sizes need to be increased in order to verify these. The psychological benefits of CAM treatments should not be underestimated; although in this review, psychological outcome measures were disregarded, there is some evidence that reducing depression can decrease HIV-related physical complaints. There is a high prevalence of alternative supplement use amongst patients with HIV-AIDS, indicating a need to understand the health benefits, risks and interactions of these supplements. Health care providers need to be aware of the use of herbal and other alternative health practices of their patients in order to evaluate indications and contraindications. Research trials must include more ethnic minorities and be more gender-balanced.
Background
Methodology
Results
Conclusion
Currently available studies indicate that many CAM interventions can improve the quality of life of people living with HIV-AIDS; however more studies using longitudinal, controlled designs are needed.
References
Power R, Gore-Felton C, Vosvick M, Israelski DM, Spiegel D. HIV: effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine. Primary Care 19 (2): 361-378, Jun 2002.
