Cam users have better adherence to hiv treatment

Use of complementary and alternative medicines by people living with HIV/AIDs does not undermine their adherence to anti-retroviral treatment, a recent US study shows, with the authors describing their finding as “surprising”. “Contrary to hypotheses, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) users were less likely to report taking medication vacations or having stopped taking HIV medications without their doctor’s approval than non-CAM users”, they wrote in Health Psychology. Moreover, higher levels of CAM use was related to less “intentional” non-adherence, such that patients who used the most CAM tended to report fewer skipped doses and fewer non-prescribed adjustments to their medication regimen in the past month.