ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE AMONG DIABETIC PATIENTS ATTENDING DIABETIC CENTER IN AL-MADINAH

Background: Diabetes affects approximately 442 million people globally, with the majority living in low- and middle-income nations. Diabetes affects 34.1% of Saudi Arabian men and 27.6% of Saudi Arabian women. More than 400 natural diabetic therapies have been reported around the world. In Saudi Arabia, 45% of individuals use medicinal plants. The goal of our study was to see how often diabetic patients in Al-diabetic Madinahs centers used supplementary medicine. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in the city of Al-Madinah. In 2020, all adult diabetic patients of both genders who visited the diabetic center in Al-Madinah were included. EPI Info was used to compute the sample size, which was 384. Results: In this study, 362 diabetic patients were enrolled, with 193 (53.3%) of them being female and the remainder being male. The participants ranged in age from 30 to 85 years old, with a mean age of 45.25±12.47 years. Saudi citizens made up the vast bulk of the 332 participants (91.7% ). Herbal medicine was not widely used in the previous year, with only 53 people (14.6%) claiming to have used it. Many different types of herbs were utilized, , with Cinnamon 21(39.6%) being the most popular. Patients who utilized herbs based on a friends recommendation made up 54.7 % of the sample, while those who got them from a traditional healer made up 11.3 %. Surprisingly, 73.6 % of herb users did not tell their doctor they were using herbs. More than 88.7% of the patients said they would like to use herbs again. When the use of herbs was evaluated in relation to patient demographic features and disease status, there were no statistically significant associations between age, sex, nationality, location of residence, patient education, blood sugar control, diabetes mellitus duration, and herb use. Conclusion: Herbal medicine was not commonly used by diabetes individuals in our study. Cinnamon was the most often used spice among people who utilized it. Saudi nationality and the absence of complications were found to be strong predictors of diabetes patients usage of supplementary medicines. The government and health-care professionals should be aware of the potential benefits and hazards of herbal medication in diabetic patients. Patients with diabetes should be informed about the risks and advantages of herbal therapy.