Symptom intensity and the use of Complementary and Integrative Medicine for the treatment of depression in Brazil: a population-based study

Many depressed patients opt for complementary integrative medicine (CIM). We aim to evaluate whether there is an association between the severity of depressive symptoms and CIM. A cross-sectional study using the Brazilian National Survey (PNS, 2019), a population-based study. A sample of 4,792 participants (15-107 years old) reporting a current treatment of depression was categorized into 3 groups: 1 (N=4,307, Yes Psychotherapy/Medication-No CIM), 2 (N=148, Yes CIM-No Psychotherapy/Medication) and 3 (N=337, Yes Psychotherapy/Medication-Yes CIM). Participants answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. We used three categories of depression: no depression (score ≤9), mild (score 10-14) and moderate/severe (≥15). Multinomial logistic regression estimated crude/adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Among participants who reported using at least one type of CIM, 3.2% and 7.0% used CIM exclusively or associated with conventional treatments, respectively. The higher the intensity of depressive symptoms, the lower the chance of using CIM exclusively. In Brazil only a minority of depressed people use CIM exclusively.