Efficacy of Alternative Medicine in Reducing Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is one of Pakistan's most common diseases, affecting nearly 27.4 million people. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming quite popular for the management of diabetes. We aim to study the subjects that use alternative medicine in order to assess the effect of alternative therapy on the glycemic control and overall health of the patients.

Methods: This study was conducted from January 2019 to December 2019 in Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 101 diabetic patients who used alternative medicine as part of their diabetes treatment were enrolled in the study after oral informed consent. Patients who were using concomitant conventional therapy were excluded from the study. On day 0, the random blood glucose levels and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels were noted. Patients were followed up after 12 weeks, and their blood glucose levels and HbA1c levels were noted again. Out of 101 participants, around 92 of them completed the study and were included in the final analysis.

Results: According to the results, 41 (44.5%) participants admitted that they used Herbal medicine, 32 (34.78%) participants used home remedies through dietary modifications, 11 (11.95%) participants used spiritual healing techniques, and 7 (7.60%) participants used cupping therapy. We found no significant reduction of HbA1c levels at the end of 12 weeks in any group.

Conclusion: This study failed to show any significant reduction in HbA1c levels after 12 weeks in patients taking various alternative medicine forms. There is a need for further large-scale trials to establish this mode of treatment's efficacy and safety.

Keywords: complementary and alternative medicine; diabetes mellitus type 2; pakistan.