Study On The Characteristics Of Somatic And Mental Symptoms In Women With Climatic Syndrome And Its Correlations Analysis

BackgroundsClimatic syndrome is a common disease which caused a series of somatic and mental symptoms with the change and the decrease of hormone.It has great damage in women's somatic and mental health. Somatic symptoms are the main demonstration in one part of women with climatic syndrome, and the other part is primarily demanstrated with depressive and anxious symptoms. Depressive and anxious symptoms not only have great influence in quality of life, but also increase the risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and metabolism syndrome. They make women cripple, decrease social productive forces, increase the rate of suicide and have a great burden to the econmics and society.Object ivesTo explore the characteristics of somatic and mental symptoms in women with climatic syndrome, to investigate the prevalence of depressive and anxious symptoms in women with menopausal symptoms, to compare the differences in menopausal symptoms between women primarily with somatic symptoms and women primarily with mental symptoms, and to analyze the correlations between menopausal symptoms and depressive and anxious symptoms and the correlations between depressive and anxious symptoms and five viscera in the theory of Chinese medicine, and to determine the effect of age on somatic and mental symptoms in women primarily with somatic symptoms and women primarily with mental symptoms, to explore the differences in Chinese medicine syndromes.MethodsSubjects were selected d from menopausal women in the Menopause Clinic of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (Guangdong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine) from June,2009 to February,2010. Women aged between 41 to 60 were included in the study if they fulfilled the diagnosis criteria of climacteric syndrome and the criteria of Chinese medicine syndrome and the inclusion criteria. Their general conditions were recorded in Clinic Registration Form. The modified Kupperman Index (KI) was used to evaluate the menopausal symptoms, and the Chinese Menopause Rating Scale (CMRS) was used to evaluate the somatic and mental symptoms of five viscera which has been proved to have good validity and reliability in our previous project "The Tenth Five-Year Chinese national Programs for Science and Technology Development". The Zung Self Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the Zung Self Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were used to estimate the depressive and anxious symptoms.ResultA total of 211 subjects with climacteric syndrome fulfilled the criterias were included in the study. According to the KI scores, there were 77 women with mild climacteric syndrome, accounted for 36.5%,79 women with moderate climatic syndrome, accounted for 37.4%,55 women with severe climatic syndrome, accounted for 26.1%. There were 138 women with mood symptoms in climacteric women with climacteric syndrome, which accounted for 65.4%. The prevalences of depressive symptoms and anxious symptoms among menopausal women were quite high. There were 20 women with depressive symptoms, accounted for 9.5%. According to SDS rating criteria,17 women with mild depressive symptoms, accounted for 8.1%,3 women with moderate depressive symptoms, accounted for 1.4%.24 women with anxious symptoms, accounted for 11.4%. According to SAS rating criteria,17 women with mild anxious symptoms, accounted for 8.1%,6 women with moderate anxious symptoms, accounted for 2.8%,1 women with severe anxious symptoms, accounted for 0.5%.94 women with depressive symptoms and anxious symptoms, accounted for 44.5%. The scores of KI, CMRS, five viscera in CMRS showed much higher in women primarily with mental symptoms than in women primarily with somatic symptoms (P<0.05). The five most prevalent symptoms were hot flash(87.7%), fatigue(86.3%), insomnia(82.2%), joint and muscle pain(79.5%) and irritability(78.1%) in women primarily with somatic symptoms. The five most prevalent symptoms were insomnia(95.7%), fatigue(95.7%), irritability (93.5%), hot flash(91.3%), depression(89.9%) in women primarily with mental symptoms. Compared to women primarily with somatic symptoms, except hot flash and formication, the frequencies of other symptoms in the KI scale were significant higher in the menopausal women primarily with mental symptoms (P<0.05), and except hot flash, the scores of other symptoms in the KI scale were significant higher in the menopausal women primarily with mental symptoms (P<0.05). No matter whether women were primarily with somatic symptoms or mental symptoms, the scores of KI and CMRS were positive correlation with the scores of SDS and SAS in all women with climacteric syndrome (P<0.05). After controlling the menopausal symptoms, partial correlate analysis demonstrated that depressive symptoms were positive correlated with anxious symptoms. Correlate analysis suggested the most positive correlated viscera with somatic symptoms in menopausal women primarily with somatic symptoms were heart and kidney, and the the most positive correlated viscera with mental symptoms in menopausal women primarily with mental symptoms were liver and lung. Age had no effects on the scores of KI, CMRS, SDS and SAS in women primarily with somatic symptoms or mental symptoms in menopausal women. With respect to the Chinese medicine syndromes, the majority syndrome in women primarily with somatic symptoms was kidney yin deficiency, and next was yin deficiency of liver and kidney, kidney deficiency and liver stagnation. And the majority syndrome in women primarily with mental symptoms was kidney deficiency and liver stagnation, and next was disharmony between the heart and kidney and yang deficiency of spleen and kidney.ConclusionsDepressive and anxious symptoms are common symptoms in women with climacteric syndrome. Compared to women primarily with somatic symptoms, menopausal symptoms were much severer in women primarily with mental symptoms. And the ruin in five viscera was also severer in women primarily with mental symptoms. The five most prevalent symptoms were hot flash, fatigue, insomnia, joint and muscle pain and irritability in women primarily with somatic symptoms. The five most prevalent symptoms were insomnia, fatigue, irritability, hot flash and depression in women primarily with mental symptoms. Somatic symptoms had positive correlation with depressive and anxious symptoms. The viscera most correlated with somactic symptoms in climacteric women primarily with somatic symptoms were heart and kidney, and the viscera most correlated with mental symptoms in climacteric women primarily with mental symptoms were liver and lung. The majority Chinese medicine syndrome in women primarily with somatic symptoms was kidney yin deficiency, while in women primarily with mental symptoms was kidney deficiency and liver stagnation.