Outcome of anthroposophic medication therapy in chronic disease: a 12-month prospective cohort study.

BackgroundAnthroposophic medications (AMED) are prescribed in 56 countries.ObjectiveTo study clinical outcomes in patients prescribed AMED for chronic disease.DesignProspective cohort study.Setting110 medical practices in Germany.Participants665 consecutive outpatients aged 1-71 years, prescribed AMED for mental, respiratory, musculoskeletal, neurological, genitourinary, and other chronic diseases.Main outcomesDisease and Symptom Scores (physicians' and patients' assessment, 0-10) and SF-36.ResultsDuring the first six months, an average of 1.5 AMED per patient was used, in total 652 different AMED. Origin of AMED was mineral (8.0% of 652 AMED), botanical (39.0%), zoological (7.2%), chemically defined (13.0%), and mixed (33.0%). From baseline to six-month-follow-up, all outcomes improved significantly: Disease Score improved by mean 3.15 points (95% confidence interval 2.97-3.34, p < 0.001), Symptom Score by 2.43 points (2.23-2.63, p < 0.001), SF-36 Physical Component Summary by 3.04 points (2.16-3.91, p < 0.001), and SF-36 Mental Component Summary by 5.75 points (4.59-6.92, p < 0.001). All improvements were maintained at 12-month follow-up. Improvements were similar in adult men and women, in children, and in patients not using adjunctive therapies.ConclusionOutpatients using AMED for chronic disease had long-term reduction of disease severity and improvement of quality of life.