Table 1.
Patient characteristics and factors associated with herbal medicine use, Gondar, Ethiopia (N = 387)
| Variables | Overall (n, %) | Herbal medicine use (n) | p-value | AOR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 240) | No (n = 147) | ||||
| Sex | 0.310 | ||||
| Male | 165 (42.6) | 91 | 74 | – | |
| Female | 222 (57.4) | 149 | 73 | – | |
| Educational status | 0.001* | ||||
| Primary | 93 (24.1) | 46 | 47 | ||
| Secondary | 203 (52.4) | 122 | 81 | 1.90 (0.79–4.92) | |
| Tertiary | 91 (23.5) | 72 | 19 | 1.72 (1.18–5.12) | |
| Marital status | |||||
| Unmarried | 124 (32) | 60 | 64 | 0.042* | 1 |
| Married | 263 (68) | 180 | 83 | 0.67 (0.29–1.71) | |
| Average monthly Income | |||||
| < 150 USD | 187 (48.3) | 98 | 89 | 0.032* | |
| > 150 USD | 200 (51.7) | 142 | 58 | 0.52 (0.15–1.72) | |
| Employment status | 0.162 | ||||
| Unemployed | 267 (69) | 175 | 92 | ||
| Employed | 120 (31) | 65 | 55 | 0.89 (0.51–1.51) | |
| Religion | 0.347 | ||||
| Orthodox | 209 (54) | 170 | 39 | – | |
| Muslim | 101 (26.1) | 46 | 55 | – | |
| Protestant | 43 (11.1) | 14 | 29 | – | |
| Catholic | 19 (4.9) | 7 | 12 | – | |
| Othersa | 15 (3.87) | 3 | 12 | – | |
| Mean age at diagnosis (in years) | 52.5 | 50.1 | 54.1 | ||
| Duration of disease | 0.001* | ||||
| < 6 years | 228 (58.9) | 168 | 60 | – | |
| > 6 year | 159 (41.1) | 72 | 87 | 1.51 (1.31–4.79) | |
| Presence of DM complications | |||||
| No | 158 (40.8) | 63 | 95 | 0.020* | 1 |
| Yes | 229 (59.2) | 177 | 52 | 1.45 (1.02–6.05) | |
| Family history of DM | 0.001* | ||||
| No | 148 (38.2) | 50 | 98 | 1 | |
| Yes | 239 (61.8) | 190 | 49 | 3.12 (1.62–8.05) | |
Abbreviation: USD United States dollar
*significant association (P-value less than 0.05)
a Jehovah witness, Adventist