Complementary and alternative medicine in Brazilian children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) resort to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for symptomatic relief, to inhibit progression or to reduce side effects associated with conventional therapy.

OBJECTIVES: Build a profile and assess the prevalence of the use of CAM in Brazilian children and adolescents with T1DM under conventional treatment.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study with interviews with the legal representatives of patients with T1DM (of both gender, aged 2- 17 years). The profile of users of CAM was built based on the percentage of patients that use or did not use CAM, frequency ratio and multiple correspondence analysis.

RESULTS: Seventy patients (10.7 ± 3.8 years, 34 girls and 36 boys) were assessed. Among them, 41.5% used CAM. Most of them (69%) did not inform their doctors on this use. The main reasons for the use of the CAM were the desire to improve blood sugar levels and cure the disease. The most widely used methods were medicinal plants, acupuncture, and prayer. Positive associations between the use of CAM and sociodemographic characteristics were also found.

CONCLUSIONS: The construction of the profile revealed a group of patients that deserve a special attention by health professionals because they are more prone to adopt behaviors that impair the success of the treatment, such as not counting carbohydrates and not informing the doctor about the use of CAM.