Netherlands

OBJECTIVE: To determine the use of alternative diets and other alternative treatments in 2002 compared to 1999. DESIGN: Descriptive, questionnaire. METHOD: During the period 13-26 May 2002 a survey was held among all patients visiting the outpatient clinic of the Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Patients were asked about their current and past use of alternative therapies, their reasons for using these therapies, the way they were informed about these therapies and the expenses involved.

Delphi is a project to make high-quality cases treated with homeopathy available for study. The project encountered a number of major difficulties including small numbers of cases submitted, ethical problems and problems of analysis. The nature of these problems and possible solutions are discussed.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of and reasons for the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in paediatric patients, and to determine the parental need for appropriate information from their paediatrician. DESIGN: Questionnaire. METHOD: A questionnaire was given to the parents of general paediatric patients of the St. Antonius Hospital Nieuwegein and the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands, in the period June 2003-March 2004. Parents were asked about CAM use in the past 12 months, which CAM modalities were used and their reasons for using it.

BACKGROUND: Clinically relevant drug-drug interactions (DDIs) must be recognized in a timely manner and managed appropriately to prevent adverse drug reactions or therapeutic failure. Because the evidence for most DDIs is based on case reports or poorly documented clinical information, there is a need for better assessment of their clinical relevance.

This paper examines some of the problems specifically associated with conducting research into acupuncture and how this can lead to further problems with subsequent systematic reviews. Studies for the treatment of chronic neck pain have been used as examples of how presented information can be misleading to an acupuncture-naive reader and how researchers must be sensitive to these problems when compiling their inclusion and exclusion criteria.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain an overview of data from the Cochrane Library on smoking-cessation methods and aids available in the Netherlands. DESIGN: Systematic literature review. METHOD: Common smoking-cessation methods in the Netherlands in 1999 and 2000 were selected from previous research. Data from relevant Cochrane reviews about these cessation methods were collected, after which the efficacy was calculated as a pooled odds ratio and the effectiveness as a percentage of 12 months' continuous abstinence.

This paper examines some of the problems specifically associated with conducting research into acupuncture and how this can lead to further problems with subsequent systematic reviews. Studies for the treatment of chronic neck pain have been used as examples of how presented information can be misleading to an acupuncture-naive reader and how researchers must be sensitive to these problems when compiling their inclusion and exclusion criteria.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain an overview of data from the Cochrane Library on smoking-cessation methods and aids available in the Netherlands. DESIGN: Systematic literature review. METHOD: Common smoking-cessation methods in the Netherlands in 1999 and 2000 were selected from previous research. Data from relevant Cochrane reviews about these cessation methods were collected, after which the efficacy was calculated as a pooled odds ratio and the effectiveness as a percentage of 12 months' continuous abstinence.

We conducted a sib pair study in very old subjects for the purpose of mapping longevity loci. In the present analysis, we explore whether our recruitment strategy has resulted in a population enriched for a heritable component for exceptional longevity. Our study includes families with at least two long-living siblings (men aged 89 years or above; women aged 91 years or above). Data were collected on date of birth and, if applicable, date of death of parents, brothers and sisters, offspring, and spouses of the long-living participants.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether familial longevity can be attributed to sustained hematopoietic capacity. DESIGN: Prospective follow-up study of two independent population-based cohorts. SETTING: The Leiden Longevity Study and the Leiden 85-plus Study. PARTICIPANTS: From the Leiden Longevity Study, 1,001 nonagenarians with familial longevity were included. As age-matched controls, 260 nonagenarians without familial longevity were used from the Leiden 85-plus Study. MEASUREMENTS: Hemoglobin, leukocytes, and thrombocytes were measured for all subjects with and without familial longevity.