Review on Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Traditional East Asian Medicine

Abstract

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is a non-invasive and low-cost technique that estimates body composition based on the distribution of water and electrolytes in the body by analyzing body’s electrical responses to source voltages. In this work, we carried out a systematic literature review on BIA researches in traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM). For comparison, firstly we introduced the concept and principle of BIA, and offered a general overview of research trends in western medical perspectives. We searched through the databases of Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System and DataBase Periodical Information Academic for the articles published between 1994 and 2013, with keywords such as ‘BIA’, ‘bioelectrical impedance’ and ‘impedance’. Among the rough-searched 274 articles, we finally selected 21 articles appropriate to the intended research field. The selected articles were categorized into diagnosis in Sasang medicine, impedance analysis in meridian system, and change of body composition after taking herbal medicine. We found that most of BIA researches in TEAM were preliminary and remained in the peripheral levels which is far behind the western medical research activities. Therefore, more efforts are needed to study BIA in association with major subjects such as pattern identification or physiological/pathological phenomena. In addition, methodological breakthrough of BIA is possible by applying the diagnostic concepts of the TEAM in relation to the balance of Qi and Blood.