Background
Methods
Data source
TCM prescriptions
Study design and subjects
Study variables
Bias assessment
Statistical analysis
Results
Characteristics of the TCM users
Demographic features | TCM users n = 13,646 | TCM nonusers n = 28,457 | aOR | 95 % CI |
p-value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex | |||||
Female (%) | 6973 (51.1) | 13,292 (46.7) | 1 | ||
Male (%) | 6673 (48.9) | 15,165 (53.3) | 0.83 | 0.79–0.86 | <0.001 |
Age (mean (SD)) | 7.81 (3.4) | 5.00 (3.7) | <0.001 | ||
Infants, <1 (%) | 348 (2.6) | 4986 (17.5) | 1 | ||
Toddlers, 1–2 (%) | 1230 (9.0) | 6396 (22.5) | 2.78 | 2.45–3.16 | <0.001 |
Pre-schools, 3–5 (%) | 2657 (19.5) | 6036 (21.2) | 5.57 | 4.94–6.29 | <0.001 |
School ages, 6–12 (%) | 9411 (69.0) | 11,039 (38.8) | 10.0 | 8.88–11.15 | <0.001 |
Combined allergic diseases | |||||
Asthma (%) | 1381 (10.1) | 2057 (7.2) | 0.87 | 0.77–0.99 | 0.041 |
Allergic rhinitis (%) | 4565 (33.5) | 3877 (13.6) | 2.44 | 2.10–2.85 | <0.001 |
Bronchitis (%) | 4604 (33.7) | 12,220 (42.9) | 0.53 | 0.45–0.62 | <0.001 |
Number of combined allergic diseases | |||||
0 | 6293 (46.1) | 14,604 (51.3) | 1 | ||
1 | 4774 (35.0) | 10,418 (36.6) | 1.33 | 1.14–1.55 | <0.001 |
≥ 2 | 2579 (18.9) | 3435 (12.0) | 1.34 | 1.02–1.90 | 0.039 |
Geo-location | |||||
Northern area | 6144 (45.0) | 14,191 (49.9) | 1 | ||
Middle area | 3624 (26.6) | 5413 (19.0) | 1.77 | 1.67–1.89 | <0.001 |
South area | 3648 (26.7) | 8281 (29.1) | 1.12 | 1.06–1.19 | <0.001 |
East area | 230 (1.7) | 572 (2.0) | 1.03 | 0.87–1.22 | 0.718 |
Urbanization level | |||||
1 (most urbanization) | 4218 (30.9) | 8586 (30.2) | 1 | ||
2 (more urbanization) | 4418 (32.4) | 8411 (29.6) | 1.05 | 0.99–1.11 | 0.109 |
3 (middle urbanization) | 2306 (16.9) | 4855 (17.1) | 0.90 | 0.83–0.96 | <0.001 |
4 (least urbanization) | 2704 (19.8) | 6605 (23.2) | 0.75 | 0.70–0.81 | <0.001 |
Use of corticosteroids among the TCM users
Utilization patterns of corticosteroid | TCM users n = 13,646 (%) | TCM nonusers n = 28,457 (%) |
p-value |
---|---|---|---|
Exposure to steroids | |||
Any steroids | 4886 (35.8) | 19,334 (67.9) | <0.001 |
Topical steroids | 4763 (34.9) | 18,062 (63.5) | <0.001 |
Systemic steroids | 1235 (9.1) | 2807 (9.9) | 0.004 |
Prescribed duration of steroids | |||
Topical steroids | <0.001 | ||
Never used | 8883 (65.1) | 10,397 (36.5) | |
Short term (<14 days) | 3315 (24.3) | 17,492 (61.5) | |
Long term (≥14 days) | 1448 (10.6) | 568 (2.0) | |
Systemic steroids | <0.001 | ||
Never used | 12,411 (90.9) | 25,650 (90.1) | |
Short term (<14 days) | 906 (6.6) | 2730 (9.6) | |
Long term (≥14 days) | 329 (2.4) | 77 (.3) | |
Frequency of visits for steroids | |||
Topical steroids | <0.001 | ||
0 | 8883 (65.1) | 10,395 (36.5) | |
1–3 | 3807 (27.9) | 18,060 (63.5) | |
≥ 4 | 956 (7.0) | 2 (.0) | |
Systemic steroids | <0.001 | ||
0 | 12,411 (90.9) | 25,650 (90.1) | |
1–3 | 1068 (7.8) | 2807 (9.9) | |
≥ 4 | 167 (1.2) | - (.0) |
CHMs commonly used to treat the children with atopic dermatitis
Herbal formulas | Ingredients | Dosage (gm/day) | Number of prescriptions (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Xiao-Feng-San (XFS) |
Saposhnikovia divariata,
| 3.4 | 15,676 | (31.6) |
Atractylodes lancea,
| ||||
Schizonepeta tenuifolia,
| ||||
Arctium lappa,
| ||||
Glycyrrhiza uralensis,
| ||||
Rehmannia glutinosa,
| ||||
Gypsum Fibrosum,
| ||||
Clematis armandii
| ||||
Anemarrhena asphodeloides
| ||||
Angelica sinensis
| ||||
Cryptotympana pustulata
| ||||
Sesamum indicum
| ||||
Sophora flavescens
| ||||
Jing-Fang-Bai-Du-San |
Notopterygium incisum,
| 2.9 | 3841 | (10.6) |
Angelica biserrata
| ||||
Ligusticum chuanxiong
| ||||
Bupleurum chinense
| ||||
Peucedanum praeruptorum
| ||||
Citrus aurantium
| ||||
Platycodon grandiflorum
| ||||
Panax ginseng
| ||||
Poria cocos
| ||||
Glycyrrhiza uralensis.
| ||||
Xin-Yi-Qing-Fei-Tang |
Magnolia biondii
| 3.0 | 3254 | (8.9) |
Scutellaria baicalensis
| ||||
Gardenia jasminoides
| ||||
Ophiopogon japonicus
| ||||
Lilium brownii
| ||||
Gypsum Fibrosum
| ||||
Anemarrhena asphodeloides
| ||||
Glycyrrhiza uralensis
| ||||
Eriobotrya japonica
| ||||
Cimicifuga heracleifolia
| ||||
Zhen-Ren-Huo-Ming-Yin |
Lonicera japonica,
| 3.0 | 2803 | (7.7) |
Saposhnikovia divariata,
| ||||
Angelica dahurica,
| ||||
Angelica sinensis,
| ||||
Paeonia lactiflora,
| ||||
Boswellia carterii,
| ||||
Commiphora myrrha,
| ||||
Fritillaria thunbergii,
| ||||
Trichosanthes kirilowii,
| ||||
Gleditsia sinensis,
| ||||
Citrus reticulata,
| ||||
Glycyrrhiza uralensis
| ||||
Long-Dan-Xie-Gan-Tang |
Gentiana scabra
| 2.7 | 2540 | (7.0) |
Scutellaria baicalensis
| ||||
Gardenia jasminoides
| ||||
Alisma plantago-aquatica
| ||||
Caulis Clematidis armandii
| ||||
Plantago asiatica
| ||||
Angelica sinesis
| ||||
Rehmannia glutinosa
| ||||
Bupleurum chinense
| ||||
Glycyrrhiza uralensis
|
Name | Dosage (gm/day) | Number of prescriptions (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Glycyrrhiza uralensis
| 0.9 | 6076 | (16.7) |
Dictamnus dasycarpus
| 0.9 | 4876 | (13.4) |
Cryptotympana pustulata
| 0.9 | 4846 | (13.3) |
Lonicera japonica
| 1.1 | 4204 | (11.6) |
Forsythia suspensa
| 1.1 | 4141 | (11.4) |
Coix lacryma-jobi
| 1.2 | 3588 | (9.9) |
Paeonia suffruticosa
| 1.1 | 3520 | (9.7) |
Kochia scoparia
| 0.9 | 3461 | (9.5) |
Angelica dahurica
| 1.4 | 2234 | (6.1) |
Schizonepeta tenuifolia
| 1.0 | 2,186 | (6.0) |