Randomized trial of a whole-system ayurvedic protocol for type 2 diabetes.
BACKGROUND
Though complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments are popular, evidence to support their application to diabetes care is scarce. Previous CAM diabetes research has generally focused on single modalities, but CAM practitioners more commonly prescribe complex, multimodality interventions.


OBJECTIVE
The aims of this study were to determine the feasibility and clinical impact of a whole-system, Ayurvedic intervention for newly diagnosed people with type 2 diabetes.


METHODS
Patients were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control arm.


METHODS
Group model health maintenance organization.


METHODS
We recruited 60 adult patients with baseline glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values between 6.0 and 8.0.


METHODS
Treatment for the experimental group included exercise, an Ayurvedic diet, meditation instruction, and an Ayurvedic herb supplement (MA 471). Control patients attended standard diabetes education classes with primary care clinician follow-up.


METHODS
Clinical outcomes were assessed at 3 and 6 months and included HbA1c, fasting glucose, lipids, blood pressure, and weight.


RESULTS
Ninety-two percent of randomized patients completed the study, and there were no significant adverse study-related events. Using analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA), we found no significant differences for clinical outcomes at 6 months between on-study patient groups, though trends favored the Ayurvedic group. When we included a factor measuring how much baseline HbA1c exceeded the mean (6.5%), however, we found statistically significant improvements in the Ayurvedic group for HbA1c (P = .006), fasting glucose (P = .001), total cholesterol (P = .05), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = .04), and weight (P = .035).


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the Ayurvedic intervention may benefit patients with higher baseline HbA1c values, warranting further research.
Elder
Charles
C
Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Aickin
Mikel
M
Bauer
Vance
V
Cairns
Joan
J
Vuckovic
Nancy
N
D000328:Adult; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008515:Medicine, Ayurvedic; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin