Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome elements of male infertility revealed by latent tree model analysis

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo explore the features of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndromes in male infertility using computer-based analyses. METHODSLatent class analysis was used to analyze the TCM syndrome data from 813 patients with male infertility and establish a latent tree model. RESULTSA latent tree model with a Bayesian information criterion score of – 11 263 was created. This model revealed that the characteristics of basic TCM syndromes in patients with male infertility were kidney Yang deficiency, kidney Qi deficiency, spleen Yang deficiency, liver Qi stagnation, Qi stagnation and blood stasis, and dump-heat; moreover, most patients with male infertility had complex syndromes (spleen-kidney Yang deficiency and liver Qi stagnation) rather than simple single syndromes. CONCLUSIONThe hidden tree model analysis revealed the objective and quantitative complex relationships between the TCM symptoms of male infertility, and obtained the quantification and objective evidence of TCM syndromes in male infertility.