Ophthalmology. 2002 Mar; 109(3): 438-43.

Prevalence of the use of complementary and alternative medicine for glaucoma.

Rhee DJ, Spaeth GL, Myers JS, Steinmann WC, Augsburger JJ, Shatz LJ, Terebuh AK, Ritner JA, Katz LJ.

Glaucoma Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, 900 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for glaucoma, explore possible demographic and disease-related associations, and inquire about the perceived benefit of these treatments. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: One thousand twenty-seven consecutive patients from two urban, referral glaucoma practices. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Use of CAM specifically for glaucoma. RESULTS: The response rate was 97.4%. The percentage of people reporting use of CAM for glaucoma was 5.4% (54 of 1000 subjects) with 32 of these 54 (59%) having used more than one type. The percentages of those using the various types of nontraditional medicine were: megavitamin therapy (62.9%), herbal therapy (57.4%), exercise (24.0%), diet modification (22.2%), meditation, (1.8%), acupuncture (1.8%), faith healing (1.8%), and homeopathic remedies (1.8%). Patients who used CAM were more likely to be educated beyond high school (P = 0.0014) and less likely to be retired (P = 0.0053). Use of nontraditional therapy was not strongly associated with race (P = 0.044), age (P = 0.062), gender (P = 0.24), length of diagnosis (P = 0.91), or number of glaucoma medications (P = 0.58). Of those using nontraditional therapy, 52% believed that it was helpful, 39% were unsure, and 9% considered it not helpful; 72% discussed their use with an ophthalmologist. Seventy percent discovered it from sources other than providers of either traditional or nontraditional care. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CAM use for glaucoma was 5.4% (95% confidence interval, 4.0%--6.4%). Most glaucoma patients currently cared for by ophthalmologists do not use nontraditional medicine.