Traditional and Complementary Medicines usages and the associated factors in gastrointestinal outpatients in Shiraz, Iran

Abstract Background Traditional and Complementary Medicines (TC i.e., demographic characteristics, disorders diagnosis, and information related to T&CM therapy. Results Out of the 244 patients, 66.29% were female. During the past year, 36.5% of the patients had used at least one T&CM therapy. Of individuals with gastroesophageal reflux disease, dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, and constipation, T&CM therapies were used by 51%, 27%, 6.74%, and 13.5% of them, respectively. The results revealed a direct relationship between the duration of the disorders and the use of T&CM (P = 0.008). Logistic regression analysis indicated that there was significant relationship between individuals ≥ 60 years old and T&CM use (P = 0.019), while high level of education showed reverse significant relationship (P = 0.002). Furthermore, herbal medicine was the most frequently used T&CM therapy. The popular herbs were thyme (60.7%) and chamomile (20.2%). Moreover, 64 T&CM users (72%) reported the effectiveness of T&CM in management of gastrointestinal conditions. However, 78.7% of the patients had not consulted their physicians prior to the utilization of T&CM. Conclusion Considering the high frequency of using T&CM in GI disorders, patients and health care providers have to be educated to prevent the probable complications.