Complimentary / Alternative Therapies

There has been "a dramatic increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine among individuals with diabetes in recent years," Egede told Reuters Health.

In a survey of 2,474 adult diabetics, Drs. Donald Garrow and Leonard E. Egede from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston found that nearly half (48 percent) reported using some form of CAM therapy such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, dietary or herbal therapy, or massage and relaxation therapy.

"It appears," Egede said, "that those who use alternative therapies want more autonomy in making health care decisions and are willing to try alternative therapies as adjunct to conventional medicines."

CAM users in the study were typically younger, employed, more educated, and had higher incomes than non-CAM users and therefore may be more likely to afford alternative therapies in addition to their conventional medical treatments, the researchers note.

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