Abstract
Research into CAM use by people with diabetes is limited. This study explored CAM use among patients who attend diabetic clinics for followup treatment. Special attention was paid to patients' changing patterns of CAM use before and after diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes, their experience of CAM use, and their management of CAM use with conventional medicines. A retrospective cross-sectional survey (n = 326) was undertaken in three census regions in Taiwan, including metropolitan, urban, and rural areas in 2006-7 (87.4% response rate). Participants reported extensive use of CAM with conventional medicines. The prevalence of CAM use was 22.7% before and 61.0% after diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes with nutritional supplements being the most commonly used CAM before and after diagnosis. However, the disclosure rate of CAM use to healthcare professionals remained low (24.6%), and lack of knowledge about CAM ingredients was common (63.4%). Awareness of the widespread use of CAM by people with Type 2 diabetes is crucial for healthcare professionals. The self-administration of both conventional medicines and CAM without disclosure of CAM use to healthcare professionals may result in ineffective diabetes management and adverse effects. CAM information needs to be incorporated into clinical practice and patient and professional education.
Highlights
Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 is around 6.4%, affecting 285 million adults, and will increase to 7.7%, and 439 million adults by 2030 [1]
Evidence is mounting in support of the use of various Complementary and Alternative Medicine SPSS (CAM) to treat a wide variety of complications of diabetes mellitus [7], whether patients with Type 2 diabetes use CAMs with known benefits in the management of diabetes is largely unknown
When the key characteristics of gender and age were compared between the sample and the diabetic population of Taiwan the results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the sample and the population (Gender: (χ2(1) = 0.14, P = .84); Age (χ2(4) = 2.68, P = .61)
Summary
Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 is around 6.4%, affecting 285 million adults, and will increase to 7.7%, and 439 million adults by 2030 [1]. With Taiwan being part of the Asia Pacific region, the prevalence of diabetes is high at around 4.5% [2]; this disease is, emerging as a major health issue in Taiwan. The presence of such a chronic, debilitating, and possibly painful illness has been identified as a reason why patients seek out CAM [3]. The prevalence ranged from 17% in a UK study [5] to 72.8%
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