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BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Is adjunctive naturopathy associated with improved glycaemic control and a reduction in need for medications among type 2 Diabetes patients? A prospective cohort study from India

Authors: Srinivas Bairy, Ajay M. V. Kumar, MSN Raju, Shanta Achanta, Balaji Naik, Jaya P. Tripathy, Rony Zachariah

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

With an estimated 65 million Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients, India ranks second in the world in terms of DM burden. The emphasis of current medical practice has been on pharmacotherapy but, despite the best combination therapies, acheiving glycaemic control (reduction of blood sugar to desirable levels) is a challenge. ‘Integrated Naturopathy and Yoga’(INY) is an alternative system of medicine that lays emphasis on the role of diet and physical exercise. We assessed the short term effect of INY as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy on glycaemic control among type 2 DM patients.

Methods

In this prospective cohort study with a 3 month follow-up, DM patients consecutively admitted to a hospital in India from May-October 2014 for either 15 or 30 days were offered INY - a package of vegetarian diet with no added oil, sugar and salt, yoga-based exercise, patient counselling and rest. A ‘favourable outcome’ was defined as glycaemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 7 % or absolute reduction by 1 %) along with at least 50 % reduction in antidiabetes medication at 3 months relative to baseline. Compliance to diet was scored by self-report on a scale of 0–10 and categorized into poor (0–5), moderate (6–8) and excellent (9–10).

Results

Of 101 patients with 3-month follow-up data, 65(65 %) achieved a favourable outcome – with 19(19 %) stopping medication while sustaining glycemic control. Factors associated with favourable outcome were baseline HbA1c and compliance to diet, which showed a significant linear relationship with mean HbA1c reductions of 0.4 %, 1.1 % and 1.7 % in relation to poor, moderate and excellent dietary compliance respectively.

Conclusion

INY, adjunctive to pharmacotherapy, was associated with a significant beneficial effect on glycaemic control and reduced the overall need for antidiabetes medications. These early results are promising. Further studies with long-term follow-up and using more rigorous randomized controlled trial designs are needed.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
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Metadata
Title
Is adjunctive naturopathy associated with improved glycaemic control and a reduction in need for medications among type 2 Diabetes patients? A prospective cohort study from India
Authors
Srinivas Bairy
Ajay M. V. Kumar
MSN Raju
Shanta Achanta
Balaji Naik
Jaya P. Tripathy
Rony Zachariah
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-1264-0

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