Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Objective: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly utilized in adults and children for treatment of various conditions. Studies on CAM in diabetes have mainly focused on the adult population and its application in children has not been well established. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and characteristics of CAM use in Turkish children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods: The information was acquired by a questionnaire completed by a face-to-face interview with the parents of children with T1DM. Results: A total of 195 subjects (mean age: 14.02±4.7 years; F/M: 103/92) were included in this survey. Use of CAM was reported in 85 subjects (43.6%). Herbal medicines were used in 64 subjects (75.3%). Sixty-nine subjects (81.2%) did not inform the diabetes specialist about CAM use. Thirty-eight subjects (44.7%) evaluated CAM as efficacious. Only 3 subjects (3.5%) interrupted the insulin injections to use CAM. No relationships were found between CAM use and parental education or insulin dose. There were significant correlations between CAM use and higher family income (p=0.027), urban residence (p=0.05), presence of complications (p=0.03), dissatisfaction with medical therapy (p=0.034) and prior CAM use among parents (p=0.001). Conclusion: CAM use is a frequent practice among diabetic children, which is usually not shared with their physicians and sometimes leads to cessation of medical treatment. Conflict of interest:None declared.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Used for Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

“…It has been noted that children with T1DM mostly use methods such as herbal therapies, vitamins/minerals and nutritional supplements (5-7, 9, 15, 19). CAM use is higher among children with T1DM who develop complications due to the disease (7), and who have a high level of family income (5)(6)(7)(8)14). Some studies have indicated a correlation between the rate of CAM use, the duration of diabetes and the mother's educational level (5,6), while other studies have contradicted these findings (5-9, 15).…”

“…Practices based on physiology of herbs may affect glucose metabolism in children with T1DM, but clinical proof regarding CAM use in diabetic children is limited (16,20,27). CAM methods used by children with T1DM include herbs, vitamins, minerals and supplementary therapies (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)15). In the current study, it was found that the most commonly used CAM methods were herbal methods, mixtures and prayer (Table 3).…”

“…In the present study, the use of CAM among children with T1DM was found to be 40.0% (Table 2). In general, children with T1DM use CAM to reduce blood glucose to a normal level, to recover from the disease, to protect themselves from diabetic complications and/or to minimize these complications, to support medical treatment, to increase the benefits of insulin and to eliminate the side effects of insulin administration [5][6][7]9,15]. It has also been reported that children use CAM with the hope that every possible method should be tried to improve general health condition, to obtain inner peace, psychological relaxation and adaptation.…”

“…CAM is used by T1DM children and their families in order to decrease blood glucose levels and diabetic complications, to increase general health and to obtain psychological relief and relaxation; it is thought that CAM is beneficial with fewer side effects (3,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Although several studies have been published on CAM use among diabetic adults (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18), knowledge about the use of these methods among children is rather limited and there are inconsistencies among studies (5-7, 9, 16, 19, 20).…”

“…CAM is most commonly used by adults in East Asian countries for chronic diseases (1,3,4). Type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM), which is encountered often in childhood, is one of those chronic diseases (5)(6)(7)(8)(9).…”