Risk of diabetes in stroke patients who used Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang: A nationwide propensity-score matched study

Background: The utilization of traditional Chinese medicine is a common therapeutic approach for stroke patients in Chinese population, but little is known about the effect of Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang (BYHWT) on post-stroke diabetes. Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the risk of diabetes in stroke patients who used BYHWT. Study design: A retrospective cohort study based on a real-world database was conducted. Methods: Newly diagnosed stroke patients receiving inpatient care from 2000 to 2004 were identified using a large-scale insurance database in Taiwan. Propensity score matching was used to select eligible stroke patients who did (n = 9849) and did not (n = 9849) receive BYHWT. These two groups were followed up until the end of 2009 to track incident diabetes. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate the adjusted hazard rations (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for post-stroke diabetes associated with BYHWT during the follow-up period. Results: Stroke patients who used BYHWT had a reduced incidence of diabetes (14.1% vs. 19.0%, p < 0.0001) and reduced risk of diabetes (HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.72 to 0.83) compared with the control group. The association between BYHWT and reduced risk of post-stroke diabetes was significant across sexe, age group, and stroke subtype. Additionally, the use of BYHWT was associated with a reduced risk of post-stroke diabetes even after excluding the initial three months of diabetes cases in the sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: Stroke patients who received BYHWT therapy had a reduced risk of diabetes, and a positive effect was observed in various subgroups. However, future clinical trials will be necessary to validate the present findings and identify the biochemical mechanism involved.