Prevalence and correlates of complementary and alternative medicine use among diabetic patients in a resource-limited setting

BACKGROUND: The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among diabetic patients is rising to manage diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. The burden of DM in developing countries coupled with a high prevalence of CAM use and its associated risks among diabetic patients. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of CAM use among DM patients. METHODS: Diabetic patients visiting the diabetic clinics of Debre Tabor governmental hospital were invited to participate in a cross-sectional study. Interview guided self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics like, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and median were conducted for each of the questions entered in order to detect outliers and validate data entry. Independent sample ‘t’ test and ANOVA were used to test continuous variables and Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were computed to identify associated factors (sex, age, religion, marital status, residence, employment status, educational level, monthly income, duration of DM, presence of DM complication, and family history of DM) of CAM use. RESULTS: Out of 422 diabetic patients invited to participate in this study, a total of 395 completed the survey questionnaire with a response rate of 93.6%. The use of CAM was reported by 73.7% of diabetic patients. Patients' average age was 48.7 ± 12.6 years, with 53.2% females and 52.4% married. The odds of CAM use among older diabetic patients were higher compared to younger diabetic patients (AOR: 1.92; CI: 1.75–3.17). Compared to not married, married diabetic patients had higher odds of using CAM (AOR: 2.01; CI: 1.36–4.25). The odds of CAM use among respondents who develop diabetic complications were higher than patients without diabetic complications (AOR: 1.94; CI: 1.50–4.36). The odds of CAM use among respondents with a family history of DM were higher than participants without a family history of DM (AOR: 2.53; CI: 1.27–2.75). Among CAM users, 54.3% used CAM as a complementary treatment along with conventional medicine. Traditional healers (38.8%) were the most frequently reported source of recommendation about CAM use. The majority of CAM users 172 (59.1%) didn't disclose CAM use for their health care professionals. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of herbal medicine use among diabetic patients was high. Age, marital status, residence, family history of DM, presence of diabetic complications, and duration of DM were found to be strong predictors of CAM use among diabetic patients. A rigorous struggle by the government, healthcare professionals, and educational institutions is required to increase the safe use of CAM by diabetic patients and to integrate modern diabetic treatment modalities with CAM therapies.