Nutritional status and the use of traditional medicine among diabetic patients in Mawenzi Hospital, Tanzania

Abstract

Premature deaths among diabetic people are common in developing countries probably due to late diagnosis or poor adherence to use of diabetic medicine. This study aimed at assessing nutritional status and use of alternative medicinefor the aim of looking at the association between nutritional status and the use of alternative medications among diabetic patients at Mawenzi hospital. A total of 119 diabetic patients were randomly selected using a table of random numbers. The weights and heights were measured using standard procedures and BMI was computed and used to categorize participants into underweight, overweight, obese and normal status according to WHO standards. The collected data was processed and analyzedusing Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS Inc.) version 20. Mean age of the diabetic patients was 58 years out of whom 77% were females. Mean BMI was 26kg/m², majority being overweight or obese (58%) and very few (4.2%), were underweight. The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) was associated with age above 45 years compared to younger age. About 79% of respondents had diabetic complications and the most common problems were hypertension, vision and pain in the lower limbs. Majority of respondents (73%) used medication provided at the clinic together with diabetic recipe to control blood glucose level. Only 21% reported to use traditional medicine from parts of plants such as drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera) and or java plum tree (Syzygium cuminii). About 45% of the respondents skipped some days without taking their prescribed medicines. There was no any association between uses of traditional medicines with any of the socio-demographic characteristics, family history of diabetes, diabetes complications or BMI of the diabetic patients. There was high prevalence of overweight and obesity among type 2 diabetic adults. Some of the patients used traditional medicines in addition to diabetic medicine provided at the clinic. Further research is needed on the weight reduction interventions among diabetic patients and among general population and on the composition and dose of the used traditional medicines.

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes, compliance, nutritional status, alternative medicine