Lin Jui-Shan, Chen Li-Li, Lin Jun-Dai, Chang Chih-Hung, Huang Chien-Hsun, Mayer Peter Karl, Su Yi-Chang
Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Forsch Komplementmed. 2012;19(6):285-92. doi: 10.1159/000346060. Epub 2012 Dec 18.
Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory and guided by the principles of modern medicine (MM), we aimed to develop an effective and reliable diagnostic tool using self-reported data in order to assess the Yin-Xu body constitution. In this study, we further evaluated a provisional 22-item version of the Yin-Xu Body Constitution Questionnaire (BCQ-) previously derived from the Delphi process.
A total of 1,272 eligible participants aged between 20 and 60 years was recruited. The participants had received health examination in teaching hospitals and had not shown any disease onset in the prior month. The factor structure of the BCQ- was explored, and the reliability and validity of each derived factor (scale) were evaluated.
Exploratory factor analysis revealed 5 factors corresponding to the manifestations of the diminishing Yin-Xu level in 5 different body areas: head, 4 limbs, gastrointestinal tract, body surface, and abdominal cavity. 3 items with low factor loading (<0.4) were dropped, resulting in a 19-item BCQ-. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.57 to 0.85, and the intra-class correlation coefficients were greater than 0.7 for most items. The diagnoses of Yin-Xu by both the BCQ- and experienced TCM doctors were consistent. The concurrent validity showed that higher Yin-Xu scores were associated with lower hemoglobin.
The final BCQ- measures the Yin-Xu constitution of 5 different body areas. The questionnaire is a reliable, valid, and potentially useful instrument for evaluating the Yin-Xu constitution in clinical research and practice.
基于中医理论并以现代医学原则为指导，我们旨在开发一种利用自我报告数据的有效且可靠的诊断工具，以评估阴虚体质。在本研究中，我们进一步评估了先前通过德尔菲法得出的包含22个条目的阴虚体质问卷（BCQ-）临时版本。
共招募了1272名年龄在20至60岁之间的合格参与者。这些参与者在教学医院接受了健康检查，且在前一个月未出现任何疾病发作。对BCQ-的因子结构进行了探索，并评估了每个衍生因子（量表）的信度和效度。
探索性因子分析揭示了5个因子，分别对应于5个不同身体部位阴虚程度降低的表现：头部、四肢、胃肠道、体表和腹腔。剔除了3个因子载荷较低（<0.4）的条目，形成了一个包含19个条目的BCQ-。Cronbach's α系数范围为0.57至0.85，大多数条目的组内相关系数大于0.7。BCQ-与经验丰富的中医医生对阴虚的诊断结果一致。同时效度表明，阴虚得分越高与血红蛋白水平越低相关。
最终的BCQ-测量了5个不同身体部位的阴虚体质。该问卷是临床研究和实践中评估阴虚体质的一种可靠、有效且可能有用的工具。
