Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the Management of Rheumatic Diseases: Is It Useful?
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Diseases, Chronic Diseases, and Disease Prevention".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 22
Special Issue Editor
Interests: clinical pharmacology of anti-rheumatic drugs and biologics; pathophysiology and treatment of progressive systemic sclerosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a broad set of healthcare practices that are not included in conventional health system practices and not fully integrated into the dominant healthcare system [1].
Patients frequently use CAM for a number of reasons, such as feeling that conventional treatments are not working, being told that CAM is beneficial by their friends, CAM costing less, and CAM being said to have fewer or no adverse effects [2].
There has been increasing interest in CAM, with various RCTs, observational studies and case reports being conducted and multiple testimonials being gathered. The Cochrane Review website states that 1215 reviews mentioning CAM as the primary or secondary topic were published between 1998 and 2024. Multiple published studies report that CAM treats at least 40 diseases including depression, diabetes mellitus, cancer, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis, and prostatitis [3].
In rheumatic diseases, the use of CAM is common. For example, in one survey, 92% of rheumatoid arthritis patients used CAM, and in another study, it was estimated that more than 70% of systemic sclerosis patients used CAM [3,4,5].
We therefore felt it necessary to gather and examine, in a systematic manner, the evidence for or against the use of CAM in rheumatic diseases. While it is not possible to cover all aspects of CAM, this Special Issue will examine the scientific evidence for the use of the following CAM in rheumatic diseases: micronutrients; CoQ10; vitamins (particularly vitamin B12 and possibly vitamin C); yoga/Tai meditation; Ayurveda (classical); acupuncture; anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressive diet; cognitive/behavioral therapy; and herbs.
- Romero-García, P.A.; Ramirez-Perez, S.; Miguel-González, J.J.; Guzmán-Silahua, S.; Castañeda-Moreno, J.A.; Komninou, S.; Rodríguez-Lara, S.Q. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Practices: A Narrative Review Elucidating the Impact on Healthcare Systems, Mechanisms and Paediatric Applications Healthcare 2024, 17, 1547. doi:10.3390/healthcare12151547.
- Tangkiatkumjai, M.; Boardman, H.; Walker, D.M. Potential factors that influence usage of complementary and alternative medicine worldwide: a systematic review. BMC Complement. Med. Ther. 2020, 20, 363. doi:10.1186/s12906-020-03157-2.
- Kiefer, D., Pitluk, J.; Klunk, K. An Overview of CAM. Nutr. Clin. Pract. 2009, 24, 549–559. doi:/10.1177/0884533609342437.
- Santiago-Garcia, A.P.; Gamez-Nava, J.I.; Avalos-Salgado, F.A.; Cerpa-Cruz, S.; Amaya-Cabrera, E.L.; Gutierrez-Ureña, S.; Nava-Valdivia, C.A.; Gonzalez-Vazquez, S.; Arevalo-Simental, D.E.; Gomez-Camarena, J.J.; et al. Complementary Therapies and Their Association with Problems in Therapeutic Adherence to Conventional Synthetic DMARDs in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study. Healthcare 2024, 12(1), 49. doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12010049.
- Showalter, K.; Hoffmann, A.; DeCredico, N.; Thakrar, A.; Arroyo, E.; Goldberg, I.; Hinchcliff, M. Complementary therapies for patients with systemic sclerosis. J. Scleroderma. Relat. Disord. 2019, 4(3), 187–199.
Prof. Dr. Daniel E. Furst
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- evaluating
- complementary and alternative medicine
- rheumatic diseases
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