Parent perception of their child's asthma control and concurrent complementary and alternative medicine use

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1322 parents of children with asthma to measure the prevalence and factors associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use for pediatric asthma. Multivariate regression techniques were used to determine factors associated with CAM use. Eleven percent (141/1322) of children were given CAM. Parents of children on daily medications who were perceived to have poor asthma control were almost three times more likely to use CAM than parents of children on no daily medications who were perceived to have high asthma control (risk ratio: = 2.81; confidence interval: 1.72, 4.60); age, gender, race, income, and education level were not significant independent predictors. Parent perception of asthma control is significantly associated with CAM use. It is important for providers to elicit information regarding CAM use in the clinic, as this may imply that the asthma symptoms may not be well controlled.