Clustering Analysis Of TCM Syndrome Of Functional Constipation Based On "Disease"

Functional Constipation (FC) is a common clinical condition of functional gastrointestinal disease, which can be observed at different ages and features higher incidence, long duration, repeated recurrences and protracted course. FC not only affects quality of life in patients, but also increases psychological and economical burdens, induces intestinal tumors and makes cardio-cerebral vascular disease worsened. Drugs which are currently available on the market for the treatment of FC varies, including many kinds of laxatives and many Chinese Traditional Patent Medicines, however, the key point is how to choose the most effective drugs according to the patients’syndromes. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) centers on wholism and differential treatment. The syndromes of different patients with FC may be different from each other, only Chinese medicines do work do doctors choose the right ones in accordance with theories of TCM.This article will be presented in two sections:FC related literature review and clinical research about FC.Section I Literature Review1. Introducing the understanding and research progress of TCM about FC, including the etiology and pathogenesis, syndrome differentiation and therapeutic principles and methods of FC.2. Introducing research progress of Western medicine about FC, including the causes, pathogenesis, diagnostic criteria and classification, and therapeutic methods.SectionⅡ Clinical Research[Objective]:In order to study the distribution patterns of FC syndromes of TCM.[Method]:Cluster analysis in this study which comprises 120 subjects contains two parameters, nominal level variables and ordinal level variables, of which nominal level variables are made up of 34 parameters, including gender, age, occupation, cardinal symptoms and other secondary symptoms, of which ordinal level variables consist of four parameters according to the symptoms of patients, including no symptoms (-), mild symptoms (+), moderate symptoms (++) and severe symptoms (+++). Statistical method based on multimedia and spatial data of the 120 samples is utilized to obtain the object distances which are used to do cluster analysis. After clustering, any parameters whose score is higher than 70% of nominal level variables are set as syndrome elements which are qualified according to diagnostic criteria of TCM.[Results]:120 patients can be divided into five groups and the order of the number of patients with FC in each group is as follows, insufficiency and excess syndrome group> intestinal solid heat syndrome group> intestinal Yin deficiency and dryness syndrome group> Spleen Qi deficiency syndrome group> Qi stagnation syndrome group. In all groups with different ages, elder people aged at 60-80 account for the most; in the distribution of different professions, retired people) office clerks> students> unemployed people> self-employed entrepreneurs> administrative staff> workers> farmers; in the distribution of different dietary habits:spicy food> bland diet> high salt diet> high fat diet; female patients outnumber male ones in all groups except the Qi stagnation syndrome group; in the Spleen Qi deficiency syndrome group, middle-aged and elder patients represent the majority,40-59 age group account for the most; the distribution of insufficiency and excess syndrome group is similar to that of intestinal solid heat syndrome group>60 age group> 18-30 age group> 31-45 age group> 46～ 59 age group; the Qi stagnation syndrome group mainly consists of 60～ 80 age group; intestinal Yin deficiency and dryness syndrome group, the order is:18-30 age group> 60-80 age group> 31-45 age group>46-59 age group; insufficiency and excess syndromes is the most common symptoms in all age groups except for the 46-59 age group; in the professional distribution of patients with different syndrome types, Spleen Qi deficiency syndrome group mainly consists of office clerks, retired people and self-employed entrepreneurs; in the insufficiency and excess syndrome group, office clerks>retired people> unemployed people>students; in the Qi stagnation syndrome group and intestinal solid heat syndrome group, elder people are the majority, followed by office clerks, students, workers and farmers; the intestinal Yin deficiency and dryness syndrome group mainly consists of office clerks and retired people, followed by students and administrative staff; there are differences in syndromes according to their occupations; in different dietary structures, the majority of people like light diet and spicy food; in the light diet group, insufficiency and excess syndrome is the most common syndrome, followed by Spleen Qi deficiency syndrome, Qi stagnation syndrome, intestinal solid heat syndrome and intestinal Yin deficiency and dryness syndrome group; in the spicy food group, insufficiency and excess syndrome= intestinal Yin deficiency and dryness syndrome>intestinal solid heat syndrome) Qi stagnation syndrome) Spleen Qi deficiency syndrome; in the high salt diet group, intestinal solid heat syndrome) insufficiency and excess syndrome) Spleen Qi deficiency syndrome> intestinal Yin deficiency and dryness syndrome; in the high fat diet group, there are only two syndromes, intestinal solid heat syndrome is more common than insufficiency and excess syndrome.[Conclusions]:Patients with FC are divied into five different kinds of syndrome groups in this study, insufficiency and excess syndrome group is the most common one, followed by intestinal solid heat syndrome group, intestinal Yin deficiency and dryness syndrome group, Spleen Qi deficiency syndrome group and Qi stagnation syndrome group, people aged at 60-^80 account for the most, female patients outnumber male ones. Each syndrome group varies in terms of gender, age, occupation, and dietary habits, and vice versa. Totally, each has its obvious tendency.