Table 4.
Child Reported Quality of Life and Use of Specific Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies
| Scales | No. CAM users | CAM user mean (±SD) | CAM nonuser mean (±SD)a | Unadjusted difference in means (95% CI) | Model estimatedbdifference in means (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PedsQL Core Scales | |||||
| Psychosocial | 416 | n = 257 | |||
| Any | 159 | 79.5 (±14.0) | 79.2 (±14.3) | 0.38 (−2.42, 3.18) | −0.10 (−2.80, 2.60) |
| Diet | 30 | 83.3 (±14.6) | 4.11 (−1.58, 9.80) | 6.45 (1.95, 10.95)* | |
| Vitamins | 75 | 80.5 (±13.2) | 1.35 (−2.14, 4.83) | −0.92 (−4.45, 2.62) | |
| Herbs | 46 | 79.4 (±14.0) | 1.45 (−2.70, 5.60) | 1.18 (−3.02, 5.38) | |
| Supplements | 46 | 77.3 (±15.7) | −1.83 (−6.78, 3.13) | −2.13 (−6.82, 2.56) | |
| Stress reduction | 44 | 77.9 (±13.8) | −1.29 (−5.81, 3.24) | −1.98 (−6.24, 2.28) | |
| Total | 416 | n = 257 | |||
| Any | 159 | 81.5 (±12.4) | 81.7 (±12.5) | −0.18 (−2.65, 2.29) | −0.64 (−3.03, 1.74) |
| Diet | 30 | 83.5 (±12.5) | 1.76 (−3.11, 6.64) | 4.01 (0.10, 7.91)** | |
| Vitamins | 75 | 82.6 (±12.0) | 0.85 (−2.29, 3.99) | −1.20 (−4.39, 2.00) | |
| Herbs | 46 | 82.6 (±10.2) | 0.84 (−2.53, 4.21) | 0.35 (−3.11, 3.82) | |
| Supplements | 46 | 79.3 (±13.8) | −2.42 (−6.78, 1.93) | −2.90 (−7.13, 1.33) | |
| Stress reduction | 44 | 79.9 (±11.8) | −1.83 (−5.71, 2.06) | −2.47 (−6.00, 1.07) | |
| PedsQL Diabetes Module Scales | |||||
| Diabetes total | 417 | n = 258 | |||
| Any | 159 | 76.1 (±12.3) | 76.8 (±12.1) | −0.70 (−3.13, 1.73) | −1.19 (−3.65, 1.27) |
| Diet | 30 | 78.4 (±12.8) | 1.62 (−3.37, 6.61) | 2.31 (−2.29, 6.91) | |
| Vitamins | 75 | 76.3 (±14.5) | −0.55 (−3.78, 2.67) | −1.86 (−5.26, 1.54) | |
| Herbs | 46 | 75.7 (±12.3) | −1.09 (−5.03, 2.85) | −1.31 (−5.44, 2.81) | |
| Supplements | 46 | 73.2 (±13.4) | −3.58 (−7.81, 0.65) | −3.60 (−7.82, 0.63) | |
| Stress reduction | 44 | 72.9 (±12.8) | −3.88 (−8.02, 0.27) | −4.19 (−8.35, −0.04)** | |
a
Comparison group of CAM non-users defined by no use of any CAM therapies.
b
Adjusting for age, parental education, duration of diabetes, type of diabetes, and comorbidities.
*
p < 0.01, **p < 0.05.
PedsQL, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory; SD, standard deviation; CI, confidence interval.