Khalil Samir H A, Zaki Adel, Ibrahim Ahmed M, El-Moughazi Ahmed M, Khater Ahmed M, Youssef Ahmed M, El-Sa'ed Ahmed T, Rashed Eslam M
aUnit of Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine bDepartment of Bioinformatics and Medical Statistics, Medical Research Institute cDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
J Egypt Public Health Assoc. 2013 Dec;88(3):137-42. doi: 10.1097/01.EPX.0000440994.89503.45.
Diabetes mellitus is a major health problem worldwide. Several studies have shown that a significant number of diabetic patients resort to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which raises concerns regarding compliance to pharmacotherapy as well as the safety of these medications.
The aim of the study was to determine the pattern of CAM use among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Alexandria, Egypt, and its impact on compliance to pharmacotherapy.
This was a cross-sectional study of 1100 T2DM patients attending outpatient clinics of different hospitals such as University, Health Insurance, governmental, and private sector hospitals using a pretested questionnaire.
CAM use among the patients was found to be 41.7% (26.3% use CAM on a daily basis). The main reason for using CAM was belief in its benefits. The most commonly used CAM comprised white lupine, fenugreek, onion, and remedies consisting of unknown components. Poor compliance to conventional therapy (P<0.05), complete cessation of conventional therapy by the patient himself (P<0.005), poor glycemic control (P<0.05), and higher rates of complications (P<0.01) were associated with CAM use.
CAM use is notably prevalent among T2DM patients in Alexandria, Egypt, with significant impact on compliance to conventional therapies and the associated complications. Hence, there is increasing importance for raising patient awareness and continuing medical education for physicians.
糖尿病是全球主要的健康问题。多项研究表明，相当数量的糖尿病患者求助于补充和替代医学（CAM），这引发了对药物治疗依从性以及这些药物安全性的担忧。
本研究旨在确定埃及亚历山大市2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者使用补充和替代医学的模式及其对药物治疗依从性的影响。
这是一项横断面研究，对1100名在不同医院（如大学医院、健康保险医院、政府医院和私立医院）门诊就诊的T2DM患者使用预先测试的问卷进行调查。
发现患者中补充和替代医学的使用率为41.7%（26.3%的患者每天使用）。使用补充和替代医学的主要原因是相信其益处。最常用的补充和替代医学包括白羽扇豆、葫芦巴、洋葱以及成分不明的疗法。使用补充和替代医学与传统治疗依从性差（P<0.05）、患者自行完全停止传统治疗（P<0.005）、血糖控制不佳（P<0.05）以及并发症发生率较高（P<0.01）相关。
在埃及亚历山大市，2型糖尿病患者中补充和替代医学的使用显著普遍，对传统治疗的依从性及相关并发症有重大影响。因此，提高患者意识和对医生进行继续医学教育变得越来越重要。
