Association of complementary or alternative medicine use with quality of life, functional status or cumulated damage in chronic rheumatic diseases

Quality of life, functional status, or cumulated damage were compared between users and non-users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in 445 rheumatic patients (rheumatoid arthritis [RA]: 64; systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE]: 192; fibromyalgia [FM]: 34; and knee osteoarthritis [KOA]: 155). CAM use was reported by 249 subjects (55.9%; 95%CI; 51.4–60.6). After a general linear model was applied, CAM use was associated with lower scores in the physical function (p = 0.02) and bodily pain (p = 0.03) domains of the SF-36 survey. In FM, RA and KOA, functional status was not different between users and non-users. CAM use was associated with higher cumulated damage (p = 0.04) in SLE. In patients with chronic rheumatic diseases, CAM use was not associated with better quality of life. Additionally, in SLE patients, CAM use was associated with higher cumulated damage. More research on CAM use in chronic rheumatic diseases is needed to better delineate its risk/benefit profile.