Do women who consult with naturopaths or herbalists have a healthy lifestyle?: a secondary analysis of the Australian lo
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(2020) 20:349
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Do women who consult with naturopaths or herbalists have a healthy lifestyle?: a secondary analysis of the Australian longitudinal study on women’s health Amie Steel1* , Stefania Tiveron2, Rebecca Reid1, Jon Wardle1, Holger Cramer1,3, Jon Adams1, David Sibbritt1 and Romy Lauche1
Abstract Background: Australians report consulting with a naturopaths or herbalists to improve their wellbeing, yet little is known about the associations between these consultations and the patients’ health behaviours. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between health behaviour and consultations with naturopaths or herbalists in three age cohorts of Australian women. Methods: Women aged 19–25 years, 31–36 years, and 62–67 years from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) were surveyed regarding smoking, alcohol or drug use, physical activity and dietary behaviour; and whether they consulted with naturopath/herbalists in the last 12 months. Associations were analysed using multivariable logistic regression. Results: A total of 9151 (19–25 years), 8200 (31–36 years) and 11,344 (62–67 years) women were included in the analysis. Between 7.3 and 11.9% of women reported to have consulted with naturopaths/herbalists in the last 12 months. Women of all cohorts consulting with naturopath/herbalist were less likely to smoke (19-25 yrs.: Odds Ratio [OR] 0.61; 31–36 years: OR 0.58; 62–67 years: OR 0.29), more likely to report at least moderate levels of physical activity (19-25 yrs.: OR 1.41; 31–36 years: OR 1.34; 62–67 years: OR 1.34), and the use of vegetarian diets(19-25 yrs.: OR 1.40; 31–36 years: OR 1.77; 62–67 years: OR 2.28), compared to women not consulting with naturopaths/herbalists. Women consulting with naturopaths/herbalists however were also more likely to have used marijuana (19-25 yrs.: OR 1.18; 31–36 years: OR 1.42), or illicit drugs in the last 12 months (19-25 yrs.: OR 1.24; 31–36 years: OR 1.40). Conclusions: Consultations with a naturopath or herbalist are associated with positive health behaviours that are protective of internationally important non-communicable diseases. Psychoactive drug use is also reported among women visiting a naturopath or herbalist. Further research is needed to understand the role naturopaths play in advising patients with regards to health and non-healthy behaviours. Keywords: Health behaviours, Health promotion, Naturopathy, Illicit drugs, Dietary practices
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Level 8, Bldg 10, 235-253 Jones St, Ultimo, NSW, Sydney, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or
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