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Multicenter Study
. 2020 Feb 28;20(1):65.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-020-2854-4.

Herbal medicine from the perspective of type II diabetic patients and physicians: what is the relationship?

Aljawharah Alqathama  1 , Ghadeer Alluhiabi  2 , Halah Baghdadi  2 , Lujain Aljahani  2 , Ola Khan  2 , Sara Jabal  2 , Shorooq Makkawi  2 , Farah Alhomoud  3
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Herbal medicine from the perspective of type II diabetic patients and physicians: what is the relationship?

Aljawharah Alqathama et al. BMC Complement Med Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major public health problem and one of the most challenging diseases worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has the second highest rate of diabetes in the Middle East and seventh highest globally. Some diabetic patients may prefer to use alternative approaches such as herbal remedies to control their blood glucose level and this study aims to assess the prevalence of herbal usage and to evaluate users' and doctors' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about herbal medicine as well as the patient/doctor relationship in this regard.

Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in several hospitals and medical centres in Makkah, KSA, between January and March 2019. Around 289 type II diabetic patients and 105 doctors were interviewed.

Results: We found that 68% of the participants were frequent consumers of herbal remedies, especially cinnamon, ginger and fenugreek. Patients' knowledge of herbal usage was mainly gleaned from family and friends as well as social media, and we found that many (71.4%) did not bother to consult or inform their doctors about their choice to self-medicate with herbs. Patients had no concerns regarding the efficacy and safety of herbal usage use in diabetes, as around half of the participants believe that herbal medicine is effective (54%) and safe (46%) for treating symptoms of diabetes. Two-thirds of the doctors (66%) routinely ask patients whether they use herbs for their condition. Although 25% of the doctors took a positive view of herbal medicine in relation to diabetes, others expressed concerns with the rise in herb use and want to see more attention paid to safety aspects.

Conclusion: The study concludes that herbal remedies are commonly used by diabetic patients and that a gap exists in the relationship between patients and doctors concerning the disclosure of herbal remedy use and views on its safety.

Keywords: Attitude; Belief; Diabetes; Herbal medicine; Herbs; Knowledge; Patients; Physician; Prevalence; Relationship.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The most frequently used herbs from the perspective of the diabetic population (a) and their doctors (b)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Doctors’ knowledge about herbal usage by diabetic patients
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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