title: Risk of Developing Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Receiving Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) between diabetic patients receiving Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapy and those treated by Western medicine (WM).
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective cohort study included 13,655 diabetic patients receiving solely TCM and 435,165 patients treated exclusively by WM. Study patients were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) ambulatory claims in 2000-2001. These patients were then linked to the 2000-2008 NHI inpatient claims, searching for possible new onset of hospitalization for CAD. A Cox proportional hazard model and logistic regression model were used to assess the hazard ratio of CAD admission and odds ratio (OR) of higher rates of admission for CAD in relation to TCM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During 9 years of follow-up, 2607 diabetic patients with TCM were hospitalized for CAD, representing a cumulative incidence rate of 19.1% and an incidence density of 50.5 per 1000 person-years. The corresponding figures for patients treated by WM were 24.1% and 72.7 per 1000 person-years. Compared with the patients treated by WM, those treated by TCM were associated with a slightly reduced, but insignificantly, adjusted OR of CAD admission (0.96; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-1.01). Moreover, the adjusted OR for a higher rate (≥0.212 admission per person-year) of CAD admission for the patients with TCM was also insignificantly decreased at 0.97.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After adjustment for prior co-morbidity score, risk or rate of CAD admission did not significantly differ between diabetic patients receiving TCM therapy and those treated by WM, suggesting that TCM is as efficacious as WM in preventing diabetes from being complicated with CAD.
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Preclinical Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine , Beijing, China .|2 The Sun Vitality Clinic , Taichung, Taiwan .
authors.forename: Hsin-Sheng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: 3 Department and Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan, Taiwan .
authors.forename: Chih-Ching
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Preclinical Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine , Beijing, China .
authors.forename: Chun-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: 4 Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Sin-Lau Hospital , Tainan, Taiwan .
authors.forename: Yen-Hsun
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 3 Department and Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan, Taiwan .|5 Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University , Taichung, Taiwan .
authors.forename: Chung-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D058065:Diabetic Cardiomyopathies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D008517:Phytotherapy; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents