Herbal Remedies Are Everywhere in Indonesia, Yet Blood Sugar and

A new national study in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies quantifies how widely traditional health practices are used in Indonesia by adults living with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or both. Researchers led by Raden M. Febriyanti of Universitas Padjadjaran analyzed the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey and identified 2,703 adults aged 15 and older with physician-diagnosed conditions and complete records. Among these patients, 1,309 reported using traditional health services in the prior 12 months, a weighted prevalence of 53%. Herbal preparations were used by 76.2% of traditional-care users, while manual therapies such as massage were used by 52.9%. Urban residents had higher odds than rural (aOR 1.28), and self-employed respondents were also more likely (aOR 1.49).