RESUMO
Objective: Diabetes mellitus represents a major burden globally and locally. Some diabetic patients may resort to the use of herbal medicine as another approach to control their blood glucose levels. This study aims to assess the prevalence and the perception of diabetic patients toward the usage of herbs in treating diabetes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a specialized polyclinic of the primary health care center in the National Guard hospital located in Jeddah. The questionnaire was interviewer-administered and a total of 196 diabetic patients were interviewed. Results: Of 196 patients interviewed, most (59.7%) have used herbs to treat diabetes. Cinnamon, garlic, fenugreek, and moringa were the most common herbs used by diabetic patients. Many herbal users (49.9%) reported that herbs can play a role in decreasing blood glucose levels and (48%) of herbal users prefer the use of herbs over conventional medicine in treating diabetes. Most diabetic patients (37.3%) gained their knowledge about herbs through media and the experiences of other diabetic patients and we found that the reason to use herbs the majority was to reap the benefits of the herbs (48.7%) or because of herbs on controlling diabetes and reducing diabetic complications (30.7%). Conclusion: This study concluded that herbs are commonly used among diabetic patients and the majority of patients perceive herbs as a cofactor in controlling diabetes.
RESUMO
Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with the risk for immune-mediated inflammatory reactions in various respiratory infections. Our study investigated the association between vitamin D deficiency and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients' outcomes. We included 545 patients who were admitted to a tertiary center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from March 2020 to July 2021 with a vitamin D serum test result at the time of infection or prior to disease onset. The data were extracted retrospectively using a data collection sheet. Our primary outcomes were intensive care unit (ICU) admission and in-hospital mortality. The cut-off values for vitamin D were <25, 25-49, and 50-250 for deficient, suboptimal, and optimal levels respectively. Our result revealed that there is no association between vitamin D serum levels deficiency and ICU admission (OR=1.08, p=0.75) or in-hospital mortality (OR=1.74, p=0.97). ICU admission and in-hospital mortality percentages in patients with vitamin D deficiency were 14.1% and 6.4%, respectively. In comparison, percentages for patients with optimal levels were 16.67% and 6.15% for ICU admission and in-hospital mortality, respectively. Smoking was not associated with ICU admission (p=0.05) or in-hospital mortality (p=0.38). Our study does not support a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 patients' outcomes. Future studies should be directed toward conducting randomized clinical trials to determine whether vitamin D has an effective role in reducing COVID-19 severity.
