Biopsychological and pathophysiological features of Cold-Heat subgroup of Sasang typology with Sasang Digestive Function Inventory, Sasang Personality Questionnaire and Body Mass Index

Background The Sasang typology is a traditional Korean personalized medicine and its Cold-Heat subgroup identification is essential for effective use of medical herbs and acupuncture. The purpose of this study was to discover differences between Cold-Heat subgroups with objective clinical measures and to examine its clinical usefulness. Methods The pathophysiological symptoms of the digestive system, temperament and body shape of 241 patients were measured using the Sasang Digestive Function Inventory (SDFI), Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and Body Mass Index (BMI). The differences between Cold and Heat subgroups of each Sasang types were tested by Analysis of Covariance considering age and sex, while the associations of SDFI, SPQ and BMI with Cold-Heat subgroup were examined by logistic regression analysis. Results There were significant differences between Cold and Heat subgroups in SDFI, SPQ and BMI for the So-Yang, SDFI and BMI for the Tae-Eum type and SDFI-Digestion subscale for the So-Eum type. Moreover, the SDFI-Digestion was a substantial predictor for Cold-Heat subgroup identification in three Sasang types. The logistic regression model with SDFI, SPQ and BMI correctly predicted 81.9%, 77% and 75.5% of the Cold-Heat subgroups in So-Yang, Tae-Eum and So-Eum types, respectively. Conclusion The results of the present study showed that the objective and validated clinical measures of SDFI, SPQ and BMI would be useful for differentiating Cold-Heat subgroups of Sasang typology. Further clinical studies on pathophysiological mechanisms in Cold-Heat subgroup are required to generalize these results.