Utilization patterns of traditional Chinese medicine for outpatients with asthma under the National Health Insurance in Taiwan in 2002

Background Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. Few studies investigated the utilization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), particularly by a large-scale surveillance in Taiwan. Objectives To describe the utilization patterns of TCM for outpatients with asthma of the National Health Insurance enrollees and how it varied according to the characteristics of the patients, the attributes of diseases and the local medical resources on the TCM utilization. Materials and Methods The database of all asthma patients whose diagnosis number (ICD-9-CM) is 493 in 2002 was provided by the National Health Research Institutes for research purpose. Two-part model regression analysis was used. A significance level was set at 0.05. Results The odds of TCM utilization were increased with age to a peak in the 31–45-year-group (OR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.56–2.02). Asthma patients with emergency service utilization (OR = 2.83, 95% CI = 2.65–3.04) were more likely to use TCM. Co-morbidities associated with higher TCM used were hypertension, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, upper respiratory tract infection, COPD, otitis media, conjunctivitis, peptic ulcer, and chronic liver disease. Asthma patients with highest level of insurance premium, sources of Chinese medicine physicians, urbanization, and living in Southern or Central Taiwan have the largest odds of TCM use. Conclusions Our results show that TCM utilization rates vary significantly according to geographical regions, TCM resources, patient characteristics, and the attributes of diseases.