Effects of TCMC on Transformation of Good Health Status to Suboptimal Health Status: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Yanyan Liu,Ren Luo,Jieyu Chen,Lei Xiang,Changsong Lin,Jingru Cheng,Xiaoshan Zhao,Fei Li,Xiaomin Sun,Ya Xiao,Pingping Jiang,Tian Wang,Shengwei Wu,Lin Zhou

doi:10.1155/2015/259727

Abstract

To explore the effects of traditional Chinese medicine constitution (TCMC) on transformation of good health status to suboptimal health status (SHS), we conducted a nested case-control study among college students in China. During the 18-month mean follow-up time, 543 cases of SHS (42.7%) occurred in 1273 healthy students. There was a significant (P = 0.000) and marked reduction in SHMS V1.0 total score in the case group at the 18-month follow-up (69.32 ± 5.45) compared with baseline (78.60 ± 4.70), but there was no significant change in the control group. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that respondents reporting Yin-deficiency and Qi-deficiency were, respectively, 2.247 and 2.198 times more likely to develop SHS, while tendency to Yin-deficiency and tendency to Damp-heat were, respectively, 1.642 and 1.506 times more likely to develop SHS. However, the Balanced Constitution was a significant protective factor (OR 0.649; P < 0.05). Altogether, these findings demonstrate that Yin-deficiency, Qi-deficiency, tendency to Yin-deficiency, and tendency to Damp-heat appeared to induce a change in health status to SHS, while the Balanced Constitution seemed to restrain this change. We conclude that regulating the unbalanced TCMC (such as Yin-deficiency and Qi-deficiency) may prevent a healthy status developing into SHS or lead to the regression of SHS.

Highlights

The traditional Chinese medicine constitution (TCMC) is defined as the state of a population or an individual, with relative stability in function, structure, and metabolism, formed during growth, development, and aging under the influence of environmental factors and genetic background [1]
The TCMC is divided into nine types, which can be divide into Balanced Constitution and eight unbalanced constitutions, including Qi-deficiency, Qi-stagnation, Yang-deficiency, Yindeficiency, Blood-stasis, Damp-heat, Phlegm-dampness, and Inherited Special Constitution (Table 1) [1]
No significant difference was observed between cases and controls for sex, age, BMI, smoking status, or alcohol intake (p = 1.000, p = 0.200, p = 0.209, p = 1.000, and p = 0.247, resp.), indicating that there was no significant difference in the additional variables of smoking status, BMI, and alcohol intake between the case and control groups that might have confounded results

Summary

Introduction

The traditional Chinese medicine constitution (TCMC) is defined as the state of a population or an individual, with relative stability in function, structure, and metabolism, formed during growth, development, and aging under the influence of environmental factors and genetic background [1]. In 2009, criteria for the classification and criterion of TCMC were published by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. According to these criteria, the TCMC is divided into nine types, which can be divide into Balanced Constitution and eight unbalanced constitutions, including Qi-deficiency, Qi-stagnation, Yang-deficiency, Yindeficiency, Blood-stasis, Damp-heat, Phlegm-dampness, and Inherited Special Constitution (Table 1) [1]. The prevention and intervention strategies for SHS are similar to those of preventive, predictive, and personalized medicine (PPPM), which

Methods

Results

Conclusion