Table 1
Patient characteristics (n = 204)
| Characteristic | Number (%)† |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| Male | 62 (30.4) |
| Female | 142 (69.6) |
| Age (years) (median [IQR]) | 69.0 (9.0) |
| Education | |
| Uneducated | 13 (6.4) |
| Educated‡ | 191 (93.6) |
| Marital status | |
| Couple | 138 (67.6) |
| Single | 13 (6.4) |
| Widowed/divorced | 53 (26.0) |
| Career | |
| No | 142 (69.6) |
| Yes | 62 (30.4) |
| Salary§ | |
| No | 52 (25.5) |
| Yes | 152 (74.5) |
| Underlying diseases | |
| No | 9 (4.4) |
| Yes | 195 (95.6) |
| Type of underlying diseases | |
| Dyslipidemia | 145 (71.1) |
| Hypertension | 144 (70.6) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 64 (31.4) |
| Osteoarthritis | 17 (8.3) |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 14 (6.9) |
| Gout | 10 (4.9) |
| Dyspepsia | 9 (4.4) |
| Asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 9 (4.4) |
| Cancer | 7 (3.4) |
| Allergic rhinitis | 7 (3.4) |
| Number of underlying diseases (median [IQR]) | 2.0 (1.0) |
| Number of current medications || per day (median [IQR]) | 3.0 (1.0) |
Table 2
Prevalence of herbal medicine usage (n = 204)
| Usage of herbal medicine | Number (%) |
|---|---|
| No | 80 (39.2) |
| History of use, but stopped after more than 1 year | 23 (11.3) |
| Current usage† | 101 (49.5) |
Table 3
Reasons for usage, source of influence to initiate use, disclosure to health care providers, and perceived effects after use in patients with a history of herbal medicine usage (n = 124)
| Topic | Number (%) |
|---|---|
| Reasons for use† | |
| Thought that herbal medicines are interesting | 81 (65.3) |
| Herbal medicines may add benefits to conventional medicine | 60 (48.4) |
| Health care provider suggested use | 7 (5.6) |
| Conventional medicine was ineffective | 6 (4.8) |
| Other | 8 (6.5) |
| Expected benefits† | |
| Cardiovascular system | 80 (64.5) |
| Gastrointestinal system | 36 (29.0) |
| Respiratory system | 33 (26.6) |
| Endocrine system | 28 (22.6) |
| Musculoskeletal system | 27 (21.8) |
| Other | 60 (39.0) |
| Consideration before herbal medicine usage | |
| Did not consider any topic before consumption | 98 (79) |
| Considered at least 1 of the following topics before consumption† | 26 (21) |
| Product reliability | 20 (16) |
| Safety | 8 (7) |
| Efficacy | 2 (2) |
| Cost–benefit effectiveness | 2 (2) |
| Source of influence initial usage† | |
| Oneself because of their tradition or culture | 25 (20) |
| Suggestion by neighbor | 25 (20) |
| Suggestion by relatives | 24 (19) |
| Advertising media | 20 (16) |
| Suggestion by friends | 18 (15) |
| Suggestion by health care providers | 12 (10) |
| Suggestion by other patients | 9 (7) |
| Other | 13 (11) |
| Perceived effects after use | |
| Beneficial | 95 (77) |
| No difference | 23 (19) |
| Experienced side effects‡ | 6 (5) |
| Drug interaction awareness | |
| No | 78 (63) |
| Yes | 46 (37) |
| Preferences of disclosure to health care providers | |
| Would only report if medical professionals asked | 80 (68) |
| Would always ask before use | 16 (13) |
| Would always report after use | 12 (10) |
| Would disclose only if complications occurred | 8 (7) |
| Would not disclose about use | 4 (3) |
| History of being asked about herbal medicine use by health care providers | |
| No | 91 (73) |
| Yes | 33 (27) |
Table 4
Number and name of herbal medicine usage in current user (n = 101)
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Number of herbal medicines used together | |
| 1 | 63 |
| 2 | 16 |
| 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 1 |
| 7 | 2 |
| Name of herbal medicine used† | |
| Kariyat | 37 |
| Turmeric | 19 |
| Bai yanang | 17 |
| Laurel | 14 |
| Gotu kola | 10 |
| Ginger | 10 |
| Moringa | 9 |
| Garlic | 7 |
| Cordyceps | 7 |
| Collagen | 7 |
| Herbal medicine (name unknown) | 17 |
| Other | 80 |
Table 5
Multivariate analysis for factors associated with herbal medicine usage in elderly patients (n = 204)
| Herbal medicine usage† | Adjusted OR (95% CI) | P (Wald test) | P (LR test) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No (n = 80) | Yes (n = 124) | ||||
| Sex | 0.28 | ||||
| Male | 21 (34%) | 41 (66%) | 1 | ||
| Female | 59 (42%) | 83 (59%) | 0.68 (0.34 to 1.37) | 0.28 | |
| Age (median [IQR]) | 68.8 (8.5) | 69.0 (9) | 0.99 (0.95 to 1.04) | 0.90 | 0.90 |
| Education | 0.03* | ||||
| Uneducated | 9 (69%) | 4 (31%) | 1 | ||
| Educated | 71 (37%) | 120 (63%) | 4.12 (1.12 to 15.2) | 0.03* | |
| Marital status | 0.36 | ||||
| Couple | 51 (37%) | 87 (63%) | 1 | ||
| Single | 7 (54%) | 6 (46%) | 0.43 (0.13 to 0.39) | 0.16 | |
| Widowed/divorced | 22 (42%) | 31 (59%) | 1.04 (0.51 to 2.14) | 0.91 | |
| Career | 0.28 | ||||
| No | 58 (41%) | 84 (59%) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 22 (36%) | 40 (65%) | 1.46 (0.74 to 2.88) | 0.28 | |
| Salary | 0.85 | ||||
| No | 21 (40%) | 31 (60%) | 1 | ||
| Yes | 59 (39%) | 93 (61%) | 0.94 (0.46 to 1.89) | 0.85 | |
| Number of underlying diseases (median [IQR]) | 2.0 (1.0) | 2.0 (1.0) | 0.74 (0.52 to 1.06) | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| Number of current medications per day (median [IQR]) | 3.0 (1.25) | 3.0 (1.0) | 1.06 (0.84 to 1.34) | 0.63 | 0.63 |