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Trend and pattern of using herbal medicines among people who are aware of their diabetes mellitus: results from National STEPs Surveys in 2005 to 2011 in Iran

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Abstract

Objectives

Use of traditional herbal medicines especially by those affected by chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus is important. The objective of this study was to assess trend and Pattern of using traditional herbal medicines by diabetic population in Iran.

Methods

The results of this study are extracted from the National Stepwise approach to chronic disease risk factor surveillance (STEPs), conducted in 2005- 2016 in Iran. A total of 3095 Iranian diabetic individuals, aged more than 25 years in 2005, 1470 diabetics in 2006, 1633 diabetics in 2007, 1652 diabetics in 2008, 1563 diabetics in 2009, and 1005 diabetics in 2011 were included in this study. We couldn’t use data in 2016 because in 2016, traditional herbal use has not been questioned. First, a descriptive analysis of the study variables and prevalence of herbal use for each year, was performed. Thereafter, to determine which variables were independent predictors of adherence to herbal use, we performed multivariate logistic regression.

Results

Using traditional herbal medicines among Iranian adult population was increased from 11.1 (9.98–12.20) in 2005 to 23.5 (20.87–26.25) in 2011. The results show increase in herbal medicine use in all age groups, both urban and rural areas, and both male and female over time. Also, we found that using traditional herbal medicines was more common among female compared with male (24.2% versus 21.8%), older than middle-aged people (24.4% versus 15.9%), and people living in urban areas compared with rural area (24.13% versus 20.95%) in 2011.

Conclusion

The use of traditional herbs for treatment, alone or in combination with other therapies by the patients who have diabetes has increased over the time. Considering the high level of using traditional herbal medicines in treatment of diabetes and because of the possible herb–drug interactions, policymakers need to take appropriate interventions to control herb store and increase people's knowledge about the herbal usage.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

CAM:

Complementary and alternative medicine

IDF:

International Diabetes Federation

MENA:

Middle Eastern and North Africa

STEPs:

STEPwise approach to chronic disease risk factor surveillance

AOR:

Adjusted odds ratio

DM:

Diabetes Mellitus

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Acknowledgements

The study was provided ethical approval by the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (IR.USWR.REC.1396.266). The authors of this paper thank the authors whose publications they cited for their contributions and Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center of Tehran University

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Welfare Management, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sina Ahmadi & Hassan Rafiey

  2. Social Welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sina Ahmadi & Hassan Rafiey

  3. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Department of Social Welfare Management, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Homeira Sajjadi & Farhad Nosrati Nejad

  4. Non–communicable Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Naser Ahmadi, Moein Yoosefi & Farshad Farzadfar

  5. Department of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran

    Seyed Fahim Irandoost

  6. Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Farshad Farzadfar

Authors
  1. Sina Ahmadi
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  2. Hassan Rafiey
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  5. Naser Ahmadi
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  8. Farshad Farzadfar
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Contributions

All authors participated and approved the study design. General designing of paper: HR, FF, SA, FN, HS. Designing of methods: FF, NA, MY, SA. Analysis: HR, SA, SFI, MY, NA. Result interpretation: FF, SFI, HR, FN, SA, HS. Writing primary draft: SA, HR. Manuscript revision: All. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Farshad Farzadfar.

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The study was provided ethical approval by the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (IR.USWR.REC.1396.266).

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Not applicable.

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The authors declared that they have no conflict of interests.

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Ahmadi, S., Rafiey, H., Sajjadi, H. et al. Trend and pattern of using herbal medicines among people who are aware of their diabetes mellitus: results from National STEPs Surveys in 2005 to 2011 in Iran. J Diabetes Metab Disord 20, 1319–1325 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-021-00859-3

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