Complementary Medicine Use in a Dementia Clinic Population

Complementary medicine is frequently utilized for a variety of chronic health problems. We evaluated its use among patients attending a Canadian dementia clinic. Using a telephone survey, we inquired about the use of alternative therapy, including nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, and chelation therapy, for problems with cognition. Only 9.6% of our patient population used complementary medicine as a treatment for cognitive problems. A further 29% used complementary medicines for general health promotion. While higher use might have been anticipated because of the limited conventional therapies available, we did not find a high prevalence of consumption of alternative medicine for cognitive problems. Knowledge of the use of these therapies is still important and should not be neglected. A nonjudgmental inquiry into all therapies being used (for whatever reason) should be part of the assessment of any patient with suspected dementia.