Use of traditional medicine for hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia measured in 71 surveys

Utilisation de la médecine traditionnelle pour traiter l’hypertension, le diabète et l’hypercholestérolémie, mesurée dans 71 enquêtes
Uso de la medicina tradicional para la hipertensión, la diabetes y la hipercolesterolemia medido en 71 encuestas
Sulola M.A. Sibai A.M. Damasceno A. Issanov A. Sarria-Santamera A. Orazumbekova B. Norov B. Bicaba B. Houehanou C. Guwatudde D. Kagaruki G.B. Gathecha G. Jorgensen J.A. Mwangi K.J. Agoudavi K. Sturua L. Mayige M.T. Gurung M. Hwalla N. Lunet N. Mwalim O. McClure R.W. Quesnel-Crooks S. Bahendeka S. Atun R. Bärnighausen T. Davies J. Flood D. Geldsetzer P. Jaacks L. Manne-Goehler J. Theilmann M. Vollmer S. Marcus M.E.
2025 World Health Organization

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
2025 #103 Issue 11 662 - 674 pp.

Objective To assess the pattern of traditional medicine use globally for treating hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia. Methods We pooled individual-level data from 309 745 non-pregnant people aged ≥ 15 years from 71 nationally representative surveys conducted in low-and middle-income countries between 2005 and 2021. We identified individuals with diagnosed hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia who reported use of traditional medicine. For each condition, we estimated the prevalence of traditional medicine use at the global, regional and country-income level and the proportion using traditional medicine and biomedicine. We estimated the association between traditional medicine use and individual characteristics. Findings The prevalence of traditional medicine use was 14.7% (95% confidence interval, CI: 12.7–16.9) for diabetes, 12.4% (95% CI: 10.0–15.3) for hypercholesterolaemia and 8.1% (95% CI: 7.3–9.0) for hypertension. Most individuals using traditional medicine for diabetes or hypercholesterolaemia also used biomedicine. Associations between sociodemographic characteristics and traditional medicine use varied between regions and health conditions. In the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Western Pacific Region, traditional medicine use for diabetes was significantly higher in males and younger adults, whereas use for hypertension was significantly higher in females and older adults. In the WHO African Region, traditional medicine use for diabetes and hypertension was higher in males and individuals with lower education. Conclusion Our study shows a high prevalence of traditional medicine use for treating hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia in low-and middle-income countries. Our results highlight the need to better understand the clinical interactions and risks of traditional medicine for improved cardiometabolic treatment.

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Department of Economics and Centre for Modern Indian Studies, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
Epidemiology and Population Health Department, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
National Center for Public Health, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Institut National de Santé Publique, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
National School of Public Health, University of Parakou, Parakou, Benin
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
National Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Division of Non-Communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya
Department of Public Health, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark
Togo Ministry of Health, Lomé, Togo
Non-Communicable Disease Department, National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
Health Research and Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Thimphu, Bhutan
Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Department of Public Health and Forensic Sciences, and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Ministry of Health, Zanzibar, City, Tanzania
Office of Epidemiology and Surveillance, Costa Rican Social Security Fund, San José, Costa Rica
Caribbean Public Health Agency, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Department of Internal Medicine, Uganda Martyrs University, Kampala, Uganda
Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University, Boston, United States
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Department of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
Division of Primary Care and Population Health, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, The University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom
Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Womens Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, 02115, MA, United States

Department of Economics and Centre for Modern Indian Studies
Epidemiology and Population Health Department
Faculty of Medicine
School of Population and Public Health
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Wolfson Institute of Population Health
National Center for Public Health
Institut National de Santé Publique
National School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
National Institute for Medical Research
Division of Non-Communicable Diseases
Department of Public Health
Togo Ministry of Health
Non-Communicable Disease Department
Health Research and Epidemiology Unit
Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
Department of Public Health and Forensic Sciences
Ministry of Health
Office of Epidemiology and Surveillance
Caribbean Public Health Agency
Department of Internal Medicine
Department of Global Health and Population
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health
Department of Applied Health Research
Department of Medicine
Division of Primary Care and Population Health
Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security
Division of Infectious Diseases

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