A CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DIABETES AND RISK OF HYPOGLYCEMIA WITH CONCURRENT USE OF NATURAL HERBS/HERBAL PRODUCTS

Objective: To determine the various misconceptions in diabetes mellitus and the factors leading to such misconceptions. To find out the association of various misconceptions with the socio-demographic factors. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 350 diabetic patients for a period of 6 mo. The study was done in diabetic clinics in the districts of Salem and Erode. Results: The study included a total of 350 patients, among which 206 (58.86%) were females and 144 (41.14%) were males. The majority of the study population was between the age group 61-70 (30.86%). The total misconception scores were low (0-34) in 144 (41.14%), moderate (35-69) in 180 (51.43%) and high (70-104) in 26 (7.43%). Out of 25 patients identified with hypoglycemia 2 patients (8%) had only drug-drug interaction. 10 patients (40%) with both DI and HDI were identified. Herb-drug interactions alone were identified in 13 diabetic patients with hypoglycemia (52%) indicating the risk of hypoglycemia with concurrent use of herbs along with diabetic medications. Conclusion: In this study carried out in a study population of 350 patients, the majority of the population, which contributes to about 94% had high to moderate knowledge about their condition of diabetes mellitus. The misconceptions about diabetes mellitus were high in 6.57% of the study population