Survey on utilisation of complementary alternative medicine in diabetes mellitus in Korea

Lee MS^1,2, Lee MS³, Jang HS⁴, Park R¹, Moon SR^1,5

¹Professional Graduate School of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, 570-170, Republic of Korea

²Center for Integrative Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, Wonkwang University, School of Medicine, Iksan, 570-749, Republic of Korea

³Department of Nursing, Mokpo Catholic University, Mokpo, 530-742, Republic of Korea

⁴Department of Nursing, Wonkwang Health Science College, Iksan, 570-750, Republic of Korea

⁵Department of Radiation Oncology, Wonkwang University, School of Medicine, Iksan, 570-711, Republic of Korea

Objective

Diabetes mellitus (DM) patients use herbal and alternative treatments to improve their health. This study was designed to discover the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for patients with DM.

Materials and methods

The study surveyed 223 DM patients. A 23-question survey was used, and included questions about demographic information (7), clinical information (7) and questions on the utilisation of CAM (9).

Results

The 223 DM patients that completed the survey included 105 men (47.1%) and 118 women (52.9%) with a mean age of 62.85 years and duration of DM of 8.14 years. Of 223 respondents, 145 (65%) had been experienced with CAM, 78 (35%) had not been. It was found that 43.5% of respondents started taking CAM after suggestions by family members or relatives. Only 30.3% of users found that CAM was beneficial, while 37.2% of people found no changes. Of the 93 CAM materials, 63.7% were various types of plants, 21.6% were animal material and 14.7% were a mixed group. There was a significant relationship between the attempt to use new CAM and religion (P = 0.038), doing self blood sugar test (P = 0.037). The group of DM with education experience had a tendency to carry out hospital treatment well (P = 0.045).

Conclusion

Substantial utilisation of CAM treatment for DM patients is observed. Many DM patients (65%) are taking CAM and one-third of them consider these efficacious. Therefore, healthcare providers should recognise and consider patients’ underlying desire to improve their health state and should be able to advise patients on the use of CAM.

(This research was supported by the Brain Korea 21 Project in 2002.)

Top | Next: What determines the use of complementary therapies by Canadian cancer patients?»