[Stratified analysis of the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine constitutional types and health status in the general population based on data of 8,448 cases].

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutional types and health status among groups of different age or gender in the general population of China.

METHODS

Data of 8 448 cases were randomly sampled from a database of 21 948 cases of a cross-sectional survey on the TCM constitutional types and health status which was carried out in 9 provinces or municipalities of China (Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Qinghai, Fujian, Beijing, Jilin, Jiangxi and Henan) according to gender and age structure of the Chinese population in 2005. Scores of health-related quality of life scale--the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (MOS SF-36)--were analyzed by Nemenyi test to compare the health status of individuals with different constitutional types.

RESULTS

Compared with the gentleness type, the MOS SF-36 scores of the 8 types of pathological constitution were significantly low (P<0.05) among groups of different age or gender. The MOS SF-36 score was the lowest in men of the qi-deficiency, qi-depression and blood-stasis types, while it was the lowest in women of the phlegm-dampness, qi-depression and qi-deficiency types. For the age group of 15 to 34, the special diathesis, qi-depression and blood-stasis types had the lowest MOS SF-36 scores; for the age group of 35 to 59, the qi-deficiency, qi-depression and blood-stasis types had the lowest MOS SF-36 scores; for the age group of over 60, the qi-deficiency, qi-depression and phlegm-dampness types had the lowest MOS SF-36 scores.

CONCLUSION

In groups of different gender or age, the MOS SF-36 scores of the 8 types of pathological constitution were significantly lower than that of the gentleness type, indicating a deficient health status. The health status of different types of constitution showed different characteristics in groups of different gender or age.