Individualized homeopathic treatment in addition to conventional treatment in type II diabetic patients in Hong Kong – a retrospective cohort study

Objective: Glycaemic goals are not achieved in most patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM), especially in those with long disease duration and taking multiple oral antidiabetic drugs (OAD). We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of individualized homeopathic treatment in glycaemic control.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: At least 6 months of individualized homeopathic treatment at a private homeopathic centre in Hong Kong.

Participants: Twenty-seven adults aged 37–84 years were treated with individualized homeopathic remedies between 2012 and 2015. Published data on 40 T2DM patients under standard conventional treatment in Hong Kong were used as a control.

Main outcome measure: Change in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) at 12-month or the last follow-up, whichever is earlier.

Results: Compared with the conventional treatment only group, the homeopathy group had higher baseline FPG (p = 0.044), and more patients had a long (>20 years) duration of diabetes (p = 0.006), and a history of cardiac events (p = 0.022). The mean difference in FPG in the homeopathy group was significantly greater than in the control after 12 months: −2.24 mmol/L (95% confidence interval [CI]: −3.47 to −1.01) vs 0.16 mmol/L (95% CI: −1.72 to 2.04), p = 0.001. The mean difference in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was also significantly greater, −1.11% (95% CI: −2.17 to −0.05) vs 0.08% (95% CI: −1.37 to 1.53), p = 0.046. Poorer baseline glycaemic control was associated with better outcome (r = −0.750, p < 0.001), but not the duration of diabetes (r = 0.058, p = 0.772). The improvement was robust to sensitivity analyses.

Conclusion: Individualized homeopathic treatment was associated with better glycaemic control compared with standard conventional treatment alone.

Keywords

Homeopathy - Individualized treatment - Diabetes - mellitus type II - Cohort study - Hong Kong

• References

• 1 World Health Organization. The world health report: life in the 21st century – a vision for all. Geneva: WHO; 1998.
• 2 Tong P.C., Ko G.T., So W. et al. Use of anti-diabetic drugs and glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes—The Hong Kong diabetes registry. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2008; 82 (03) 346-352.
• 3 Chuang L., Tsai S., Huang B., Tai T. The status of diabetes control in Asia—a cross-sectional survey of 24 317 patients with diabetes mellitus in 1998. Diabet Med 2002; 19 (12) 978-985.
• 4 Liebl A., Neiss A., Spannheimer A. et al. Complications, co-morbidity, and blood glucose control in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Germany – results from the CODE-2 study. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2002; 110 (01) 10-16.
• 5 Koro C.E., Bowlin S.J., Bourgeois N., Fedder D.O. Glycemic control from 1988 to 2000 among U.S. adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes: a preliminary report. Diabetes Care 2004; 27 (01) 17-20.
• 6 Lago R.M., Singh P.P., Nesto R.W. Congestive heart failure and cardiovascular death in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes given thiazolidinediones: a meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials. Lancet 2007; 370 9593 1129-1136.
• 7 Nissen S.E., Wolski K. Rosiglitazone revisited: an updated meta-analysis of risk for myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality. Arch Intern Med 2010; 170 (14) 1191-1201.
• 8 Evans J., Ogston S.A., Emslie-Smith A., Morris A.D. Risk of mortality and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes: a comparison of patients treated with sulfonylureas and metformin. Diabetologia 2006; 49 (05) 930-936.
• 9 Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Study Group. Gerstein H.C., Miller M.E. et al. Effects of intensive glucose lowering in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2008; 358 (24) 2545-2559.
• 10 World Health Organization (WHO). WHO traditional medicine strategy 2014–2023. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013. 2015.
• 14 Dannemann K., Hecker W., Haberland H. et al. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus – prevalence, patterns of use, and costs. Pediatr diabetes 2008; 9 3 pt 1 228-235.
• 15 Remli R., Chan S.C. Use of complementary medicine amongst diabetic patients in a public primary care clinic in Ipoh. Med J Malays 2003; 58 (05) 688-693.
• 20 Rastogi D., Nagpaul V., Kumar S. Demonstration of anti-diabetic activities of alloxan in potentized diluent state-an experimental approach. CCRH Q Bull 1991; 13: 25-32.
• 28 Fabbro V., Gargiulo P., Minelli E. Multicentric study of the action of the homeopathic complex R40 in the treatment of hyperglycaemia. Omeopat Oggi 1994; 5 (10) 1-16.
• 29 der Veen V., John R. A quantitative determination of the efficacy of Selenium 7CH on oxidative stress levels in type 1 diabetic patients. 2009.
• 30 Zaubair Q.M., Ahmad M., Ahmad W. Effect of mother tinctures of Gymnema sylvestre and Cephalandra indica on diabetes type II. Pak J Med Res 2002; 41 (03) 1-6.
• 31 Pomposelli R., Piasere V., Andreoni C. et al. Observational study of homeopathic and conventional therapies in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy. Homeopathy 2009; 98 (01) 17-25.
• 32 Nayak C., Oberai P., Varanasi R. et al. A prospective multi-centric open clinical trial of homeopathy in diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy. Homeopathy 2013; 102 (02) 130-138.
• 33 Yuan C., Lai C.W., Chan L.W., Chow M., Law H.K., Ying M. The effect of diabetes self-management education on body weight, glycemic control, and other metabolic markers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. J Diabetes Res 2014; 2014: 789761.
• 34 DeFronzo R.A., Hissa M.N., Garber A.J. et al. The efficacy and safety of saxagliptin when added to metformin therapy in patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes with metformin alone. Diabetes Care 2009; 32 (09) 1649-1655.
• 35 Pillay J., Armstrong M.J., Butalia S. et al. Behavioral programs for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med 2015; 163 (11) 848-860.
• 36 Duke S.S., Colagiuri S., Colagiuri R. Individual patient education for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cochrane Libr 2009; Jan 21 (01) 0-0.
• 37 Han J., Yu H., Tu Y. et al. Different clinical prognostic factors are associated with improved glycaemic control: findings from MARCH randomized trial. Diabet Med 2016; 6 May 0-0.
• 38 Bellavite P., Marzotto M., Olioso D., Moratti E., Conforti A. High-dilution effects revisited. 1. Physicochemical aspects. Homeopathy 2014; 103 (01) 4-21.
• 39 Bellavite P., Marzotto M., Olioso D., Moratti E., Conforti A. High-dilution effects revisited. 2. Pharmacodynamic mechanisms. Homeopathy 2014; 103 (01) 22-43.