Kim Jihye, Lee Haebeom, Kim Hyunho, Kim Jong Yeol, Kim Keun Ho
KM Fundamental Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseongdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Department of Biofunctional Medicine and Diagnosis, College of Korean Medicine, Sangji University, 83 Sangjidae-gil, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:6435702. doi: 10.1155/2017/6435702. Epub 2017 May 31.
The aims of this study were to investigate the relationships between tongue features and the existence of menstrual pain and to provide basic information regarding the changes in tongue features during a menstrual cycle.
This study was conducted at the Kyung Hee University Medical Center. Forty-eight eligible participants aged 20 to 29 years were enrolled and assigned to two groups according to their visual analogue scale (VAS) scores. Group A included 24 females suffering from primary dysmenorrhea (PD) caused by qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome with VAS ≥ 4. In contrast, Group B included 24 females with few premenstrual symptoms and VAS < 4. All participants completed four visits (menses-follicular-luteal-menses phases), and the tongue images were taken by using a computerized tongue image analysis system (CTIS).
The results revealed that the tongue coating color value and the tongue coating thickness in the PD group during the menstrual phase were significantly lower than those of the control group ( = 0.031 and = 0.029, resp.).
These results suggest that the tongue features obtained from the CTIS may serve as a supplementary means for the differentiation of syndromes and the evaluation of therapeutic effect and prognosis in PD.
This trial was registered with Clinical Research Information Service, registration number KCT0001604, registered on 27 August 2015.
本研究旨在探讨舌象特征与痛经存在之间的关系，并提供有关月经周期中舌象特征变化的基础信息。
本研究在庆熙大学医学中心进行。招募了48名年龄在20至29岁之间的符合条件的参与者，并根据其视觉模拟评分（VAS）将他们分为两组。A组包括24名因气滞血瘀证导致原发性痛经（PD）且VAS≥4的女性。相比之下，B组包括24名经前症状较少且VAS<4的女性。所有参与者完成了四次就诊（月经期-卵泡期-黄体期-月经期阶段），并使用计算机化舌象分析系统（CTIS）拍摄舌象。
结果显示，PD组在月经期的舌苔颜色值和舌苔厚度均显著低于对照组（分别为 = 0.031和 = 0.029）。
这些结果表明，从CTIS获得的舌象特征可作为PD辨证、疗效评估及预后判断的辅助手段。
本试验已在临床研究信息服务中心注册，注册号为KCT0001604，于2015年8月27日注册。
