Digital Health Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 24;17(3):e0266034. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266034. eCollection 2022.
Given the multifactorial nature of obesity, there is current interest on Korean medicine (KM) for weight loss. This survey aimed to investigate current practice patterns of KM treatment for obesity among doctors.
A questionnaire on clinical practice patterns of KM treatment for obesity was constructed and distributed to 21,788 KM doctors (KMDs). The questionnaire was consisted of respondent characteristics, state of treated patient, diagnosis, treatment, and usage pattern of herbal medicine for obesity.
A total of 4.9% of KMDs (n = 1,084/21,788) validly completed the survey. Patients with Obesity Class I (25 ≤ Body mass index (BMI) ≤ 29.9) are the most common in KM clinics. Bioelectric impedance and KM Obesity Pattern Identification Questionnaire were routinely used for diagnosis. The average treatment duration was 4.16 weeks, and patients visited on an average 4.25 times per month for treatment. Herbal medicine is the most commonly used for obesity treatment by KMDs, and Taeeumjowui-tang was the most frequently prescribed. Ephedrae Herba, which is identified as the most used herbs for weight loss, was prescribed 5.18 ± 2.7 g/day at minimum and 10.06 ± 4.23 g/day at maximum. A total of 62.9% of responded KMDs had ever a patient with uncomfortable symptoms due to Ephedrae Herba use, neuropsychiatric events were the most common symptoms, followed by gastrointestinal events.
Taken together, this study provides information on real clinical practice patterns of KM including patients, diagnosis, treatments, and herbal medicine for obesity.
鉴于肥胖的多因素性质，目前人们对韩国医学（KM）的减肥作用很感兴趣。本调查旨在研究医生对肥胖症进行 KM 治疗的当前实践模式。
构建了一份关于 KM 治疗肥胖症的临床实践模式的问卷，并分发给 21788 名 KM 医生（KMD）。问卷包括受访者特征、治疗患者状况、诊断、治疗以及治疗肥胖症的草药使用模式。
共有 4.9%的 KMD（n=1084/21788）有效完成了调查。在 KM 诊所中，肥胖症 I 级（25≤BMI≤29.9）患者最为常见。生物电阻抗和 KM 肥胖症模式识别问卷通常用于诊断。平均治疗持续时间为 4.16 周，患者每月平均就诊 4.25 次。草药是 KMD 治疗肥胖症最常用的方法，而太白九味汤是最常开的处方。麻黄被确定为最常用于减肥的草药，处方剂量为最低 5.18±2.7 g/天，最高 10.06±4.23 g/天。共有 62.9%的回应 KMD 曾有患者因使用麻黄而出现不适症状，最常见的症状是神经精神事件，其次是胃肠道事件。
综上所述，本研究提供了有关 KM 包括患者、诊断、治疗和治疗肥胖症的草药的真实临床实践模式的信息。
