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

BACKGROUND: Anthroposophic medications (AMED) are prescribed in 56 countries. OBJECTIVE: To study clinical outcomes in patients prescribed AMED for chronic disease. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: 110 medical practices in Germany. PARTICIPANTS: 665 consecutive outpatients aged 1–71 years, prescribed AMED for mental, respiratory, musculoskeletal, neurological, genitourinary, and other chronic diseases. MAIN OUTCOMES: Disease and Symptom Scores (physicians’ and patients’ assessment, 0–10) and SF-36. RESULTS: During 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. CONCLUSION: Outpatients using AMED for chronic disease had long-term reduction of disease severity and improvement of quality of life.