A survey of the use of complementary medicine by a self-selected community group of Australian women with polycystic ovary syndrome
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex reproductive endocrinopathy affecting up to 20% of reproductive aged women. Whilst there are effective pharmaceutical treatment options, women with PCOS have expressed a strong desire for alternatives. This study investigates the use and attitudes of women with PCOS towards complementary medicine (CM). METHODS: Women as members of PCOS support groups responded to an anonymous on-line survey which examined rates and patterns of use for CM's, areas of health for use, perceptions of effectiveness, safety and demographic features. Data collection targeted women with PCOS using two consumer support groups. The first group self-selected following direct email to members of a land based consumer support group, the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association of Australia (POSAA). The second sample was generated through the electronic social network Facebook, using a snowball technique. Two surveys, identical in content, were collected by cloud based Survey Monkey. Data were described and associations between the variables, 'reasons for use' and 'perceptions of effectiveness' were explored. Non-response bias was assessed using a continuum of resistance model. RESULTS: 493 women participated in the study; 91.1% response rate from the POSAA group. Over 70% reported use of complementary medicine, usually nutritional and herbal supplements and 76.6% of CM users reported consultation with a complementary practitioner. Many participants were using CM to treat PCOS however most were using it to concurrently treat a range of health conditions, describing women's desire for more than single symptom management. Disadvantages for CM use were cited by 71% of respondents. Women using complementary medicine with specific treatment goals in mind reported greater self-perceived effectiveness, suggesting that informed use may improve women's satisfaction with CM. Adverse reactions were reported by 12.2% of women and the need for further research into adverse reactions for CM's was identified. Demographic and PCOS characteristics were similar to clinical populations of PCOS and non-response bias was shown as not significant. CONCLUSION: This study describes the prevalence of use for complementary medicine by women with PCOS as over 70% and adds to our understanding of women's experiences with CM and their motivations for use of CM.
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- Authors
- Arentz, S., Smith, C. A., Abbott, J. A., & Bensoussan, A.
- Affiliations
- Western Sydney University (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Arentz, Susan
- Venue
- BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Published
- 2014-12
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 472-472
- ISSN
- 1472-6882 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4265410
- OpenAlex
- W2062481575
- Cited by
- 65
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 5.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Western Sydney
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Traditional Chinese Medicine Studies
- Keywords
- polycystic ovary syndrome, complementary therapy, women's health, dietary supplements, herbal supplements, perceived effectiveness, adverse effects, reasons for use, nonresponse bias
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Complementary Therapies, Attitude to Health, Australia, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Perception, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Prevalence, Health Care Surveys, Dietary Supplements, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
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