Use of Complementary Alternative Medicines by the Malaysians for the Treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study

Complementary alternative medicine is popularly used by patients in all over the world, especially in Malaysia. But there is a limited study on the use of complementary alternative medicine among patients with diabetes mellitus. The aim of this research to investigate the usage of complementary alternative medicine by the diabetic patients in Malaysia, Arabians living in Malaysia and to evaluate the therapeutic benefit and safety of CAM for the management of diabetes. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study of 215 diabetic patients. The study was conducted by survey and taking physical interview of the diabetic patients who were using CAM for the treatment of diabetes. The study was conducted among the Malaysians diabetic patients and the Arabians living in Malaysia. Besides, we used to google form to survey both types of study subjects. Data analysis was done using SPSS 22 version. In this study, males have represented 59 % respondents who use of complementary alternative medicine by the Arabians are living in Malaysia. However, the females were 41 % respondents. Males have represented 51 % respondents who use of complementary alternative medicine by the Malaysian. However, the females were 49 % respondents. The prevalence of CAM use was high among diabetics. Islam faith is predictor for CAM use among Type 2 DM patients. Further studies on the anti-glycemic activity of the isolated compound may be needed in the future.