Abstract
Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has the characteristics of multitarget and overall regulation, which has certain advantages in preventing and treating of metabolic syndrome (MS). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the similarities and differences of TCM syndrome distribution in different age groups to promote the optimization of treatment strategies. Methods This study was based on a real-world survey conducted in 3 hospitals in China. There are 1262 collected cases of MS meeting the inclusion criteria, which were divided into the young group, middle-aged group, and elderly group. Factor analysis (FA) was conducted for syndrome element extraction, and K-means cluster analysis was processed for syndrome type classification. Frequency analysis and Chi-square test were used to compare the syndrome characteristics of each group. Results Common factors extracted were assigned to 18 syndrome elements including 11 nature syndrome elements and 7 location syndrome elements. Phlegm and dampness are the most frequent syndrome elements in general. Compared with the middle-aged group and elderly group, the young group has more obvious nature syndrome elements in heat and Qi deficiency, and location syndrome elements in the stomach. As for the middle-aged group, the frequency of location syndrome in kidney syndrome was higher than that in other groups. When it comes to the elderly group, it is shown that the symptoms of Yin deficiency and blood deficiency increase with age and the old patients may have more location syndrome elements in the lung and gallbladder. Conclusion The TCM syndrome of MS is complex in that there may be the characteristics of deficiency and excess syndrome simultaneously. The main pathological factors of MS were phlegm and dampness. Besides, MS patients at different age periods may have their own syndrome distribution features. So, it is reasonable to adhere to the method of resolving phlegm and removing dampness and, at the same time, adopt the ways of clearing heat, promoting Qi, nourishing Yin, supplementing blood as well as regulating the liver, promoting the lung, transporting the spleen, nourishing the heart, and nourishing the kidney based on the syndrome feature of MS in different age stages.
Highlights
Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a metabolic disorder syndrome characterized by obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperuricemia, which are the pathological basis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes [1]
We can find that the elderly people have a higher frequency of symptoms such as dizziness, bitter taste, spitting, and dry throat. e results of cluster analysis show the relative difference is not big, but from it, we find that the young and middle-aged groups have a higher frequency in spleen deficiency and dampness syndrome and phlegm heat syndrome, while the elderly group has a higher frequency in phlegm heat syndrome and phlegm turbid upper syndrome
We can find that the Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome of metabolic syndrome (MS) is complex and there may have some syndrome elements that appeared simultaneously
Summary
Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a metabolic disorder syndrome characterized by obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperuricemia, which are the pathological basis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes [1]. As for the middle-aged group, the frequency of location syndrome in kidney syndrome was higher than that in other groups When it comes to the elderly group, it is shown that the symptoms of Yin deficiency and blood deficiency increase with age and the old patients may have more location syndrome elements in the lung and gallbladder. It is reasonable to adhere to the method of resolving phlegm and removing dampness and, at the same time, adopt the ways of clearing heat, promoting Qi, nourishing Yin, supplementing blood as well as regulating the liver, promoting the lung, transporting the spleen, nourishing the heart, and nourishing the kidney based on the syndrome feature of MS in different age stages
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