Accessing Efficacy of Homoeopathic Constitutional Remedies to Improve Quality of Life in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Using the Sf 36 Scale – Hpathy.com

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a growing global health concern, significantly impacting patient’s quality of life due to its long-term complications. Conventional treatments, while effective in managing blood sugar levels, often fail to address the overall well-being of patients.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of homoeopathic constitutional remedies in improving the quality of life in T2DM patients using the SF-36 scale.

Methodology: The study was conducted at A.M. Shaikh Homoeopathic Medical College & PG Research centre, Belagavi, Karnataka which included 182 patients with a two-year study period.

Results: The results showed significant improvements in physical functioning, mental health, and social functioning, indicating the effectiveness of homoeopathic constitutional treatment in enhancing quality of life in T2DM patients.

Conclusion: Constitutional homoeopathic remedies lead to a marked improvement in the quality of life for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, as evidenced by higher SF-36 scores across multiple domains.

Keywords: Belagavi, Constitutional remedies, Homoeopathy, Quality of life, SF-36 scale, Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objectives

1. To ***ess the efficacy of homoeopathic constitutional remedies in improving the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using the SF-36 scale.
2. To reduce the rate of complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus using individualized homoeopathic treatments.

 Introduction

Diabetes mellitus (DM), particularly type 2 diabetes (T2DM), is a major global health challenge, affecting millions of individuals. It is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, which can lead to severe complications such as cardiovascular diseases, retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. According to recent estimates, the global prevalence of DM is on the rise, with 366 million cases reported in 2011, projected to increase to 552 million by 2030.

Homoeopathic medicine, focuses on treating the individual holistically rather than targeting the disease alone. Constitutional remedies, which are selected based on the patient’s physical, mental, and emotional state, improve the patient’s overall well-being. This study ***esses the efficacy of homoeopathic constitutional remedies in enhancing the quality of life of T2DM patients, using the widely recognized SF-36 health survey as an ***essment tool.

Methodology

This study was conducted as an interventional study to ***ess the efficacy of homoeopathic constitutional remedies in improving the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using the SF-36 Health Survey (Short Form 36) as a primary tool for measurement.

Purposive sampling was used, and a total of 182 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria.

All patients were recruited from the OPD/IPD/Peripheral centres of A. M. Shaikh Homoeopathic Medical College, Hospital, and PG Research Centre, Belagavi, Karnataka.

Patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Patients willing to participate and provide informed consent.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with underlying pathologies, co-morbidities or organ failure.

The study was conducted from November 2022 to October 2024 over a period of 2 years, with regular follow-ups every fortnight initially, and then once a month for a minimum period of 6 months.

• Assessment Tool: SF-36 Health Survey

The SF-36 Health Survey (Short Form 36) was used as the primary ***essment tool to measure the quality of life of patients before and after treatment. The SF-36 is a widely used, validated tool for ***essing overall health and well-being across multiple dimensions. It includes 36 items, which are grouped into 8 domains:

1. Physical Functioning (PF) – Ability to perform physical activities like walking, climbing stairs, etc.
2. Role Physical (RP) – The extent to which physical health interferes with work or other daily activities.
3. Bodily Pain (BP) – Intensity of pain and the impact on normal activities.
4. General Health (GH) – Personal evaluation of overall health.
5. Vitality (VT) – Energy levels and fatigue.
6. Social Functioning (SF) – Impact of health on social activities.
7. Role Emotional (RE) – Impact of emotional problems on daily work or other activities.
8. Mental Health (MH) – General mental health, including depression and anxiety.

Each domain is scored on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 indicates the worst health and 100 represents the best possible health i.e Lower scores = more disability, higher scores = less disability. The SF-36 provides two summary measures:

• Physical Component Summary (PCS)
• Mental Component Summary (MCS)

The SF-36 scores were used to evaluate the baseline quality of life of the patients and the subsequent improvements post-homoeopathic treatment.

• Tool Reliability: Most of these studies that examined the reliability of the SF- 36 have exceeded 0.80 (McHorney et al., 1994; Ware et al., 1993). Estimates of reliability in the physical and mental sections are typically above 0.90.
• Tool Validity: The SF-36 is also well validated.
• Data Collection

Upon enrollment in the study, patients were ***essed using the SF-36 questionnaire to establish baseline values across the eight domains. The patients were then treated with homoeopathic constitutional remedies selected on the basis of individualization, and follow-up evaluations were conducted every fortnight for the first few months, followed by monthly ***essments.

The follow-up SF-36 ***essments were conducted at regular intervals to measure changes in patient’s quality of life. These post-treatment scores were compared to the baseline scores to evaluate the efficacy of the homoeopathic intervention.

The pre- and post-treatment SF-36 scores were collected and ***yzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The data was expressed as mean values across the eight domains of the SF-36 scale. A paired t-test was used to determine the significance of the difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment scores, with a p-value of <0.05 considered statistically significant.

Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their inclusion in the study. Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the institutional ethics committee. The study followed the ethical guidelines outlined for clinical research involving human participants.

•   Results Criteria
• Recovered: Total relief of signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus and significant improvement in SF-36 scores.
• Improved: General improvement in well-being and a noticeable improvement in clinical features as well as SF-36 scores.
• Not Improved: No significant relief in complaints or SF-36 scores, despite sufficient treatment duration.

This methodology enabled us to quantitatively ***ess the impact of homoeopathic constitutional remedies on the quality of life of T2DM patients. By using the SF-36 Health Survey, we were able to capture not just the physical, but also the mental, emotional, and social dimensions of patient health and well-being.

Results

The results indicated significant improvements in SF-36 scores, showing enhanced quality of life across various domains, including physical functioning, mental health, and social well-being. Pre- and post-treatment scores are below in Table 1.

Table 1

Below is the bar graph representing the pre- and post-treatment SF-36 scores for the different patient groups based on the collected data. The chart highlights the improvements in quality of life scores after treatment across all groups. The blue bars represent the pre-treatment scores, while the red bars show the post-treatment scores for each group. The graphical representation of these results is shown in the bar graph below in Fig 1.

Fig 1

 Fig 2

The bar graph above in Fig 2 visually represents the comparison of mean SF-36 scores across eight health domains before and after the homoeopathic treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The ***ysis shows improvements across all domains:

1. Physical Functioning: Improved from a mean score of 55 to 75.
2. Role Physical: Increased from 50 to 70.
3. Bodily Pain: Enhanced from 60 to 80.
4. General Health: Rose from 45 to 65.
5. Vitality: Increased from 40 to 68.
6. Social Functioning: Improved significantly from 50 to 78.
7. Role Emotional: Increased from 48 to 70.
8. Mental Health: Rose from 52 to 75.

​Discussion

The study showed that homoeopathic constitutional remedies have a positive impact on the quality of life of T2DM patients, as evidenced by improvements in SF-36 scores. Physical functioning, mental health, and social functioning domains showed considerable improvement after individualized homoeopath management. This suggests that constitutional homoeopathic remedies may offer an effective therapeutic approach for enhancing the overall well-being of T2DM patients, complementing conventional diabetes management.

The results corroborate with previous studies indicating the holistic benefits of homoeopathic remedies in chronic conditions, focusing on treating the patient as a whole rather than just the disease. These findings highlight the potential role of homoeopathy in improving the long-term management of T2DM by addressing both the physical and psychological aspects of the disease.

Conclusion

Homoeopathic constitutional remedies significantly improve the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, as reflected by the improved SF-36 scores in various domains. The holistic approach of homoeopathy, which considers the individual’s constitution and overall health, plays a crucial role in managing chronic diseases like T2DM. Further research with larger sample sizes, further new research designs and longer follow-up periods is recommended to validate these findings. This research emphasizes the importance of considering individualized treatment in managing chronic diseases like T2DM, and it supports the integration of homoeopathic remedies into diabetes care strategies.

Conflict of interest: None

Acknowledgement: None

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