Naturopathy an Option for Some Kids

About one in six naturopathic physicians include pediatric patients in their practice in the state of Washington, new research finds.

The study, which is published in the July issue ofPediatrics, also found that almost 30 percent of children seen by a naturopathic doctor visit them for overall health supervision, and almost 20 percent received their immunizations from a naturopathic doctor.

"We were looking to see how many naturopathic physicians treat children on a regular basis and found only about 15 percent do. The conditions seen by naturopathic doctors are similar to what pediatricians see," said study author Wendy Weber, a naturopathic doctor and a research associate professor at the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Wash., north of Seattle.

Weber was quick to point out, however, that her study was done only in the state of Washington, one of only 14 states that licenses its naturopathic practitioners, and that its findings would likely be different in other states.

Naturopathic medicine focuses on treating the whole person, not just an illness, with natural means such as diet, exercise, vitamins and herbal products. People with chronic illnesses, such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, asthma and Crohn's disease, often seek the advice of naturopathic doctors. Prevention and self-care are important components of naturopathic medicine. In some states that license naturopathic doctors, they can also prescribe medications, such as antibiotics and hormone therapy, and they can administer vaccines.

Naturopathic physicians must be licensed in the following states and territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"Washington is one of the far more liberal and open-minded states. [Naturopathic medicine in Washington] would probably be the example or a model of what naturopathic medicine should be," said Dr. David Steinhorn, medical director of the Judith Nan Joy Integrative Medicine Initiative at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

To get a better idea of how many naturopathic physicians included children in their practices, Weber and her colleagues reviewed surveys completed by 204 naturopathic physicians from Washington. Just 31 of those (15 percent) saw more than five children per week.

Of those who saw children, pediatric patients comprised 28 percent of their practice, according to the study.

Nearly one-third of the pediatric visits were children under 2, and 58.5 percent were children over 6. Health supervision visits made up 27.4 percent of pediatric visits, while 21 percent of the visits were for infectious diseases. Mental health conditions were responsible for another 13 percent of the visits by children.

Youngsters under 3 received immunizations during 19 percent of the health supervision visits, and 27 percent of those between the ages of 2 and 5 were immunized during their health supervision visits.

"There definitely are naturopathic physicians out there who see children on a regular basis and are likely the primary source of care for children," said Weber.