Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.
Department of Medicine, Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, 19141, USA.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2019 Sep 18;19(1):258. doi: 10.1186/s12906-019-2652-z.
Herbal and traditional medicines (HTM) are widely used in Asian countries. Specific data on prevalent of HTM usage and association with chronic diseases in the Thai population is currently lacking. We examined the prevalence and factors associated with HTM use in a Thai worker population. In addition, we explored the relationship between HTM use and therapeutic control of cardiovascular risk factors and documented the most common types of HTM used in various chronic diseases.
Employees of EGAT (The Electric Generating Authority of Thailand) who had participated in a health examination were studied. Each participant documented their HTM consumption and self-reported chronic diseases in a questionnaire. Clinical disease and therapeutic control were also defined by concomitant laboratory tests.
Of a total of 6592 subjects, 32.6% were HTM-users. Age < 50 years, female gender, self-reported history of diabetes, liver disease, cancer, dyslipidemia, and alcohol use were independently associated with HTM use. HTM consumption increased in proportion to the numbers of self-reported chronic diseases. There were no differences in the therapeutic control of cardiovascular risk factors between HTM users and non-users. Liver and kidney function were not different. The most commonly used HTM was turmeric.
HTM consumption is common in community-based Thai subjects, with higher use among those with chronic diseases. Although there were no differences in control of cardiovascular risk factors between HTM users and non-users, many of the commonly used herbs have relevant biological activities for chronic disease prevention or treatment.
草药和传统药物（HTM）在亚洲国家广泛使用。目前，泰国人群中 HTM 使用的流行情况及其与慢性疾病的关系缺乏具体数据。我们研究了泰国工人人群中 HTM 使用的流行情况及其与慢性疾病的关系。此外，我们还探讨了 HTM 使用与心血管危险因素治疗控制之间的关系，并记录了各种慢性疾病中最常用的 HTM 类型。
研究了参加健康检查的 EGAT（泰国发电局）员工。每位参与者在问卷中记录了他们的 HTM 消费情况和自我报告的慢性疾病。临床疾病和治疗控制也通过同时进行的实验室检查来定义。
在总共 6592 名受试者中，32.6%的人使用了 HTM。年龄<50 岁、女性、自我报告的糖尿病、肝病、癌症、血脂异常和饮酒史与 HTM 使用独立相关。HTM 消费随着自我报告的慢性疾病数量的增加而增加。HTM 使用者和非使用者的心血管危险因素治疗控制无差异。肝功能和肾功能无差异。最常用的 HTM 是姜黄。
社区泰国人群中 HTM 消费较为普遍，患有慢性疾病的人群中使用更为普遍。尽管 HTM 使用者和非使用者在心血管危险因素控制方面无差异，但许多常用草药具有预防或治疗慢性疾病的相关生物学活性。
