Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among Jordanian patients with chronic diseases

Purpose: This study explores the prevalence of herbal medicine use in a cohort of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), dyslipidemia and hypertension (HTN) in Jordan.Methods: The study took the form of a cross-sectional survey of patients attending the outpatient departments at The Jordan University Hospital (JUH), in Amman. The method was based on semi-structured questionnaire.Results: A total of 700 CKD, dyslipidemia and hypertension patients were interviewed. Of the participants, 7.6% (n = 53) reported using herbs. Most of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) users were older than 50 years of age (n = 42; 79.3%) and predominantly female (54.1%, n = 29). The majority of patients in this group had hypertension (n = 44, 83.0%), followed by dyslipidemia (n = 32, 60.4%). The most common herbal product to be used was Hibiscus sabdariffa (22.5%).Conclusion: This study confirmed that there is an appreciable prevalence of herbal use among patients with CKD, dyslipidemia and hypertension in Jordan.