Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Among Patients With Diabetes In Turkey: Systematic Review

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review study was to investigate the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) by patients with diabetes in Turkey.
Method: In order to get access to the studies on CAM that adult patients with diabetes in Turkey use, key words “conventional medicine”, “patients with diabetes”, “complementary and alternative medicines”, “Turkey” were used in search engines such as Pubmed, Ovid, Proquest, Medline, Academic Search Complete, Health Source-Nursing, Google Academi. In addition to these; online published Turkish journals, and congress books were reviewed.
Results: Eight articles published on this subject were achieved from congress books, Turkish and English journals. In these studies: It was determined that the frequency of the use of CAM by patients with diabetes in Turkey ranges from %11.5 to %70.7. It was identified that patients with diabetes use most frequently herbs (%70.7) as a CAM method. In these studies, it was found that a great majority of patients had not informed healthcare personnel about the CAM usage.
Conclusion: Use of herbs in addition to medical treatment is prevalent in patients with diabetes. This is outside healthcare professionals' knowledge. On account of the fact that the use of CAM can interact with medical treatment, it is suggested that during the diagnosis of patients with diabetes, healthcare professionals should not ignore the use of CAM, and should research about the effects of commonly used herbal medicine on the diabetes process.