Identification of Visceral Patterns in Patients with Stress-Related Disorders

Background : There is no report on traditional Chinese patterns associated with stress-related disorders such as eating disorder, pain disorder, primary insomnia, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, hyperventilation syndrome, bronchial asthma, and dystonia. Therefore, a large-size case-control study was conducted. Methods : A total of 914 new cases were assessed at a psychosomatic clinic of a tertiary medical care center. The severity of visceral patterns was analyzed according to the main symptoms described and a comprehensive questionnaire. Three patterns of the liver, four of the heart, and one of the kidney as well as dual deficiency of the heart and spleen were assessed. Results : Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that liver qi depression, liver fire flaming upward, phlegm clouding the pericardium, and dual deficiency of the heart and spleen were associated with bulimia nervosa in females. Liver fire flaming upward and phlegm turbidity were associated with primary insomnia and pain disorder, respectively, in males. An excess pattern was associated with irritable bowel syndrome, while dual deficiency of the heart and spleen was associated with functional dyspepsia in females. On the other hand, the deficiency-excess pattern was reverse in males. Phlegm fire harassing the heart was associated with hyperventilation syndrome in females. Phlegm clouding the pericardium and two kinds of yin deficiency were associated with dystonia in females. Conclusion : Primary insomnia, pain disorder in males, gastrointestinal disorders, and hyperventilation syndrome are each attributed to a single individual pattern. The pattern is different between both sexes. Bulimia nervosa and dystonia are attributed to a few patterns respectively. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel Received: December 8, 2014 Accepted after revision: January 26, 2015 Published online: March 19, 2015 Dr. Tetsuya Kondo Kansai University of Health Sciences 2-11-1 Wakaba, Kumatori, Osaka 590-0482 (Japan) E-Mail kondo0724538409 @ kansai.ac.jp www.karger.com/imi DOI: 10.1159/000375532 This is an Open Access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC) (www.karger.com/OA-license), applicable to the online version of the article only. Distribution permitted for non-commercial purposes only. D ow nl oa de d by : 54 .7 0. 40 .1 1 11 /2 5/ 20 17 9 :0 5: 17 P M 186 Integr Med Int 2014;1:185–198 DOI: 10.1159/000375532 Kondo et al.: Identification of Visceral Patterns in Patients with Stress-Related Disorders www.karger.com/imi © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel