Influence of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome groups on quality of life in women with metabolic syndrome

Li-Wen Huang; I-Ju Chen; Chung-Hua Hsu

doi:10.1016/j.jtcme.2015.10.003

Influence of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome groups on quality of life in women with metabolic syndrome

J Tradit Complement Med. 2015 Nov 18;6(4):404-408. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2015.10.003. eCollection 2016 Oct.

Authors

Li-Wen Huang¹, I-Ju Chen², Chung-Hua Hsu²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Taipei Tzuchi Hospital, The Buddhist Tzuchi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC.
² Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Branch of Linsen and Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM; zhōng yī) syndrome groups are based on the symptoms of human diseases and guide the use of Chinese herbs. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of TCM syndrome groups on biochemical characteristics and quality of life (QOL) in women with metabolic syndrome (MS). Among the 1080 registered female patients screened at our outpatient clinic, a total of 322 women aged between 18 and 65 years and meeting the requirements of MS were enrolled. All the patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire on metabolic TCM syndrome groups and a questionnaire on the QOL, the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Short Form-12 (SF-12). Data of biochemical characteristics were collected at the same time. The present study showed MS women in TCM syndrome groups had significantly lower physical and mental component scores in SF-12 compared with those not in TCM syndrome groups. We also found MS patients in TCM syndrome groups, except Kidney Deficiency syndrome, showed higher body mass indexes, waist circumference, and hip circumference. However, there was almost no difference in most biochemical characteristics between TCM syndrome groups. The MS patients diagnosed as belonging to TCM syndrome groups had poor QOL.

Keywords: Kidney Deficiency syndrome; Metabolic syndrome; Obese women; Quality of life; Traditional Chinese medicine syndrome groups.