Type Ii Diabetic Patients; Use of Camel Milk in Karachi: A Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract

Minimum sample size using 11.1% prevalence of type II diabetes mellitus, confidence interval of 95% and 5% margin of error and finite population correction for large population was calculated to be 152. Using purposive sampling, type II diabetes patients (taking oral hypoglycemic medication or insulin to control serum blood glucose) visiting outpatient departments for diabetes management at two private and one public sector hospital in Karachi, were requested to participate. After obtaining informed consent, a structured pre-coded questionnaire was filled by trained interviewer. Two laboratory assessed fasting blood (FBG) readings from previous three months were also recorded from their files. Those who affirmed the use of camel milk were asked further questions on reasons and consumption pattern. All responses were entered into SPSS version 17.0 and descriptive frequencies and statistics were obtained for camel milk users and non-users. Results: 300 patients consented to participate and filled the questionnaire. 36 forms did not have two FBG lab reports from previous three months and were excluded. In the remaining sample size of n = 264, camel milk use frequency was 35.98% (n=95). In the preceding three months, the median FBG of users was 121.0 mg/dl as compared to median FBS of non-users (64.01%;n = 169) of 202.06 mg/dl. 90.5% (n=86) of all users considered oral medications as main modality for control and only 15.8% of these patients attributed blood glucose control solely to use of camel milk. Camel milk users were found to use more of home remedies (13.7%, n = 13), homeopathic medicine (15.8%, n = 15) and exercise (45.3%, n=43) as adjunct modalities to control their blood glucose as compared to 6.5%, 8.9% and 31.4% of non-users. 71.6% (n= 121) of non-users used dietary modification to manage diabetes as compared to 47.4% (n = 45) users. 71% (n = 121) non-users were regularly measuring their blood glucose levels as compared to 56.8% (n=54) users of camel milk. Conclusions: Diabetics drinking camel milk showed a marked decrease in mean Fasting Blood Sugar values as compared to non-users. More experimental studies should be conducted on a larger scale and on different regions so as to ascertain the biological plausibility.