Malaysian ethnic approaches using complementary alternative medicine (CAM) in treating diabetes

Diabetes is a group of metabolic disorders that is a common problem yet not well understood, affecting population all over the world with its prevalence increasing year by year (NHMS, 2011). This study shows the different types of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) usage, the reasons of usage and the sources of knowledge about CAM. Questionnaire was used to identify Malaysian ethnic approaches using CAM in treating diabetes. This was a descriptive and cross sectional survey that involved 100 patients. Chi Square Test was used to investigate the associations between variables. In general, the results showed that 45% of the patients used dietary supplement followed by Traditional Malay Medicine (9.6%) and 9.1 % for acupuncture and aromatherapy.