Almalki Talal, Almalki Abdulrahman G, Alqarni Nouf A, Alsudani Rahaf, Althobaiti Teaf A, Alzahrani Raghad E
Diabetes and Endocrinology, Endocrine and Diabetes Center, King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital, Taif Health Cluster, Taif, SAU.
Family and Community Medicine, Taif University, Taif, SAU.
Cureus. 2024 Sep 12;16(9):e69288. doi: 10.7759/cureus.69288. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Background Diabetes mellitus is one of the causes to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which can be classified into nutritional, psychological and physical. The study's objective was to estimate the prevalence and pattern of using CAM among patients with diabetes mellitus who followed the endocrine and diabetes center in Taif. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in Taif city from 1 June to 31 July 2023 among diabetic patients aged 14 years and above who followed the endocrine and diabetes center. A valid, reliable, English questionnaire was used in data collection. It was composed of three parts: demographic data, diabetes mellitus history and use of CAM. Patients visited the diabetic center during the study period for their regular appointments were selected randomly and interviewed by trained interns and medical students. By using the Raosoft calculator, the minimal sample size was 361. The chi-square test and independent two-sample t-test were used to investigate the association between categorical variables and continuous numerical variables, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to control the confounding effect. Results A total of 361 patients were included. Their age ranged between 14 and 84 (51.2 ± 16.9 years). Females represented 57.6% of them. Overall, more than a quarter (28.3%) reported using CAM, while 22.4% used CAM for treating diabetes in the last 12 months. The majority of patients (97.1%) used herbs, mainly cinnamon (48.5%), fenugreek/helba (31.3%) and rosemary (20.2%). Their main source of information was family and friends (64.7%). A history of improvement of blood sugar reading with CAM was reported by 61.8%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that females were at doubled likelihood to use CAM compared to males (Adjusted odds ratio "AOR" = 2.40; 95% confidence interval "CI": 1.27-4.52, p=0.007). Compared to never-smokers, ex-smokers were more likely to use CAM (AOR=2.87; 95% CI: 1.28-6.43, p=0.010). Conclusion The use of CAM, particularly herbs, to treat diabetes is a relatively common practice among Saudi patients. However, the history of informing treating physicians about CAM was reported by a minority of patients.
背景 糖尿病是使用补充和替代医学（CAM）的原因之一，CAM可分为营养、心理和身体方面。本研究的目的是估计在塔伊夫内分泌和糖尿病中心就诊的糖尿病患者中使用CAM的患病率和模式。
材料和方法 2023年6月1日至7月31日在塔伊夫市对14岁及以上在内分泌和糖尿病中心就诊的糖尿病患者进行了一项横断面研究。使用一份有效、可靠的英文问卷收集数据。问卷由三部分组成：人口统计学数据、糖尿病病史和CAM的使用情况。在研究期间因定期预约到糖尿病中心就诊的患者被随机选择，并由经过培训的实习生和医学生进行访谈。通过使用Raosoft计算器，最小样本量为361。卡方检验和独立两样本t检验分别用于研究分类变量和连续数值变量之间的关联。进行多变量逻辑回归分析以控制混杂效应。
结果 共纳入361名患者。他们的年龄在14岁至84岁之间（51.2±16.9岁）。女性占57.6%。总体而言，超过四分之一（28.3%）的患者报告使用过CAM，而在过去12个月中有22.4%的患者使用CAM治疗糖尿病。大多数患者（97.1%）使用草药，主要是肉桂（48.5%）、葫芦巴/哈尔巴（31.3%）和迷迭香（20.2%）。他们的主要信息来源是家人和朋友（64.7%）。61.8%的患者报告使用CAM后血糖读数有所改善。多变量逻辑回归分析显示，与男性相比，女性使用CAM的可能性增加一倍（调整后的优势比“AOR”=2.40；95%置信区间“CI”：1.27 - 4.52，p = 0.007）。与从不吸烟者相比，曾经吸烟者更有可能使用CAM（AOR = 2.87；95% CI：1.28 - 6.43，p = 0.010）。
结论 在沙特患者中，使用CAM，尤其是草药治疗糖尿病是一种相对常见的做法。然而，只有少数患者向治疗医生报告了使用CAM的情况。
