Perceptions and Use of Herbal Remedies among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Murang’a North District, Kenya

Joshua  Mwangi; Lucy  Gitonga

doi:10.4236/ojcd.2014.43024

Joshua Mwangi^*, Lucy Gitonga

Abstract: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with a world wide distribution. Use of herbal remedies has been on increase with World Health Organization estimating that 80 percent of the world’s population presently uses some form of herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. Objectives of this study were therefore to determine the perceptions people with diabetes mellitus have towards herbal remedies, to determine the extent to which they use herbal remedies and also to establish whether there is any association between the perceptions people have on herbal remedies and use of herbal remedies. The study was carried out in Murang’a District, in Mathioya and Kangema Constituencies where five community health units were purposively selected to participate in the study based on their level of establishment in community health strategy. Data was collected using interview schedules. SPSS was used for data analysis. Significant findings from this study were: a significant number of the respondents (15%) were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus when already admitted in the wards prior to which period they had no idea that they were diabetic, over 86% of those interviewed were given information on diabetes management on diagnosis and they attend hospital clinics for follow-up regularly and therefore this means that the reason for seeking alternative modes of treatment is not due to lack of information on diabetes but due to other reasons, 12.4% of those interviewed admitted using herbal remedies as part of their management of diabetes. Recommendations made following the study were: the government of Kenya through Ministry of Health should encourage rigorous screening of clients and population in general for diabetes to ensure diabetes is diagnosed early and put under appropriate management and that the government of Kenya through Ministry of Health should put up a campaign educating diabetic patients on the potential dangers associated with combining herbal remedies with contemporary medicines due to their interactions.

Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Endocrinopathy, Gluconeogenesis, Herbal Remedy

Cite this paper: Mwangi, J. and Gitonga, L. (2014) Perceptions and Use of Herbal Remedies among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Murang’a North District, Kenya. Open Journal of Clinical Diagnostics, 4, 152-172. doi: 10.4236/ojcd.2014.43024.

References

[1] World Health Organization (2003) The World Health Report 2002—Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. WHO, Geneva.

[2] International Diabetes Federation (2003) Diabetes Atlas. 2nd Edition, IDF, Brussels.

[3] Wild, S., et al. (2004) Global Prevalence of Diabetes: Estimates for 2000 and Projections for 2030. Diabetes Care, 27, 1047-1053.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/diacare.27.5.1047

[4] Atkinson, M.A. and Eisenbarth, G. (2001) Type 1 Diabetes: New Perspective on Disease Pathogenesis and Treatment. The Lancet, 358, 221-229.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(01)05415-0

[5] International Diabetes Federation (2006) Diabetes Atlas. 3rd Edition, IDF, Brussels.

[6] Mario, A. and Alla, S. (2008) Diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries, 28, 101-108.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0973-3930.45268

[7] Chege, M. (2007) Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Patients Attending a Rural Kenyan Hospital. African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, 2, No. 1.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v2i1.96

[8] Souhami, L. and Moxham, J. (1994) Textbook of Medicine. Churchill Livingstone, London.

[9] Palinkas, L. and Kabongo, M. (2000) The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Primary Care Patients. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0807, USA. Journal of Family Practice, 49, 1121-1130.

[10] World Health Organization (1999) Definition, Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus and Its Complication. Department of Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance, Geneva.

[11] Rother, K.I. (2007) Diabetes Treatment—Bridging the Divide. The New England Journal of Medicine, 356, 1499-1501.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp078030

[12] Tierney, L., McPhee, S. and Papadakis, M. (2002) Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. International Edition, Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill, New York, 1203-1215.

[13] Leslie, R.G. and Robins, D.C. (1995) Diabetes: Clinical Science in Practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

[14] Masters, S.L., Dunne, A., Subramanian, S.L., et al. (2010) Activation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome by Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Provides a Mechanism for Enhanced IL-1β in Type 2 Diabetes. Nature Immunology, 11, 897-904

[15] Pickup, J. and Williams, G. (1997) Textbook of Diabetes. 2nd Edition, Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.

[16] Lawrence, J.M., Contreras, R., et al. (2008) Trends in the Prevalence of Preexisting Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus among a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Population of Pregnant Women, 1999-2005. Diabetes Care, 31, 899-904.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dc07-2345

[17] Byrne, M., Sturis. J., et al. (1996) Altered Insulin Secretory Response to Glucose in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Subjects with Mutations in the Diabetes Susceptibility Gene MODY 3 on Chromosome 12. Diabetes, 45, 1503-1510.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/diab.45.11.1503

[18] Pandit, M.K., Burke, J., et al. (1993) Drug-Induced Disorders of Glucose Tolerance. Annals of Internal Medicine, 118, 529-540.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-118-7-199304010-00008

[19] Frier, B.M. and Fisher, B.M. (1999) Hypoglycaemia in Clinical Diabetes. John Wiley, Chichester.

[20] Williams, G. and Monson, J. (1994) Diabetes Mellitus and Disorders of Lipid and Intermedially Metabolism: Textbook of Medicine. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburg.

[21] Kordella, T. (2003) New Combo Pills. Diabetes Forecast, 42.

[22] American Diabetes Association (2003) Standards of Medical Care for Patients with Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care, 26, S33-S50.

[23] Huffman, M. (2003) Animal Self-Medication and Ethno-Medicine: Exploration and Exploitation of the Medicinal Properties of Plants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 62, 371-381.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/PNS2003257

[24] Crutchfield, D.B. (2003) Oral Antidiabetic Agents: Back to the Basics. Geriatric Times, 20.

[25] Diabetes Voice (2006) A Diabetes Strategy for Africa: Investing in Health, Protecting Our People. Diabetes Voice, 51.

[26] Elamin, A., Omer, M.I., Zein, K. and Tuvemo, T. (1992) Epidemiology of Childhood Type I Diabetes in Sudan, 1987- 1990. Diabetes Care, 15, 1556-1559.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/diacare.15.11.1556

[27] Afoke, A., Ejeh, N., et al. (1992) Prevalence and Clinical Picture of IDDM in Nigerian Ibo School Children. Diabetes Care, 15, 1310-1312.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/diacare.15.10.1310

[28] Swai, A.B.M., Lutale, J. and McLarty, D.G. (1993) Diabetes in Tropical Africa. Prospective Study of Incidence of Juvenile Diabetes Mellitus over 10 Years in Dares Salaam, Tanzania. British Medical Journal, 306, 1570-1572.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.306.6892.1570

[29] Sobngwi, E., Mbanya, J., et al. (2002) Physical Activity and Its Relationship with Obesity, Hypertension and Diabetes in Urban and Rural Cameroon. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 26, 1009-1016.

[30] Mosley, W.H., Bobadilla, J.L. and Jamison, D.T. (1993) The Health Transition: Implications for Health Policy in Developing Countries. In: Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, Oxford University Press, New York, 673-699.

[31] Levitt, N.S., Steyn, K., et al. (1999) Modifiable Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in a Peri-Urban Community in South Africa. Diabetic Medicine, 16, 946-950.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1464-5491.1999.00185.x

[32] McLarty, D.G., Yusafai, A. and Swai, A. (1989) Seasonal Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus in Tropical Africa. Diabetic Medicine, 6, 762-765.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-5491.1989.tb01275.x

[33] Swai, A.B., McLarty, D.G., et al. (1990) Diabetes and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in an Asian Community in Tanzania. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 8, 227-234.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0168-8227(90)90121-9

[34] Cooper, R.S., Rotimi, C.N., et al. (1997) Prevalence of NIDDM among Populations of the African Diaspora. Diabetes Care, 20, 343-348.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/diacare.20.3.343

[35] Mbanya, J.C., Ngogang, J., et al. (1997) Prevalence of NIDDM and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in a Rural and an Urban Population in Cameroon. Diabetologia, 40, 824-829.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s001250050755

[36] Aspray, T.J., Mugusi, F., et al. (2000) Rural and Urban Differences in Diabetes Prevalence in Tanzania: The Role of Obesity, Physical Inactivity and Urban Living. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 94, 637-644.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0035-9203(00)90216-5

[37] Ramachandran, A., Snehallata, C., et al. (1999) Impacts of Urbanization on the Lifestyle and on the Prevalence of Diabetes in Native Asian Population. Diabetes Resident Clinical Practice, 44, 207-213.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8227(99)00024-8

[38] Amoah, A.G., Owusu, S.K. and Adjei, S. (2002) Diabetes in Ghana: A Community Based Prevalence Study in Greater Accra. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 56, 197-205.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8227(01)00374-6

[39] Kebaso, J.N. (2003) Prevalence Major Complications of Diabetes Mellitus and Compliance in Diabetic Patients Seeking Treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital. Masters of Public Health Thesis, Kenyatta University, Nairobi.

[40] Otieno, C.F. (2005) Diabetes Care in Kenya, Where We Are and Which Way Forward. East African Medical Journal, 82, S161-S162.

[41] Brater, D.C. and Daly, W.J. (2000) Clinical Pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Principles That Presage the 21st Century. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 67, 447-450.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1067/mcp.2000.106465

[42] Goldman, P. (2001) Herbal Medicines Today and the Roots of Modern Pharmacology. Annals of Internal Medicine, 135, 594-600.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-135-8_Part_1-200110160-00010

[43] Barnes, J. (2002) Herbal Therapeutics: An Introduction to Herbal Medicinal Products. Pharmaceutical Journal, 268, 803.

[44] Johnson, L., Strich, H., et al. (2006) Use of Herbal Remedies by Diabetic Hispanic Women in the Southwestern United States. Phytotherapy Research, 20, 250-255.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ptr.1820

[45] Ayyanar, M., Sankarasivaraman, K. and Ignacimuthu, S. (2008) Traditional Herbal.

[46] Kothari, C.R. (2004) Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. 2nd Edition, New Age International Publishers, New Delhi.