Abstract
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.