So-Eum Type as an Independent Risk Factor for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Population-Based Study in Korea.

Lee, Seung Ku; Yoon, Dae Wui; Yi, Hyeryeon; Lee, Si Woo; Kim, Jong Yeol; Kim, Jin Kwan; Hong, Jeong Hwa; Shin, Chol

Objectives: It has been hypothesized that Sasang constitutional types (SCTs) have a specific hypoactive organ, which can account for vulnerability to related diseases or symptoms. This study examined the relationship between SCTs and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Design: Cross-sectional study in a population-based cohort study in Korea. Participants: 1362 individuals (705 men and 657 women) who participated in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Outcome measures: The participants were classified into SCTs by the integrated diagnostic model and asked about symptoms related to IBS using the Rome II criteria. Results: The prevalence of IBS differed significantly among the SCTs, with 33 (18.3%) of the So-eum (SE) type, 74 (9.9%) of the Tae-eum (TE) type, and 57 (13.2%) of the So-yang (SY) type having IBS. Even after adjustment for possible confounders, the SE type for both sexes continued to show 1.82-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-3.16) excess odds of having IBS. Men with SE type had a 2.97 times (95% CI, 1.34-6.58) and a 2.50 times (95% CI, 1.15-5.47) significantly higher odds of having IBS than the TE and SY types, respectively. In analysis for the joint effect of SCT and psychological stress, the multivariate odds ratio of IBS was 3.21 (95% CI, 1.33-7.75) for the SE type and Psychological Well-Being Index-Short Form (PWI-SF) score (<27), and 5.83 (95% CI, 1.80-18.88) for the SE type and PWI-SF (≥27) compared with the TE type and PWI-SF score (<27). Conclusions: The SE type of SCT is an independent risk factor for IBS. The findings support the hypothesis that persons with SE type are vulnerable to gastrointestinal diseases.

SOUTH Korea; CROSS-sectional method; TRADITIONAL medicine; IRRITABLE colon; RESEARCH funding; BODY mass index; DATA analysis; QUESTIONNAIRES; MULTIPLE regression analysis; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; CHI-squared test; HUMAN constitution; LONGITUDINAL method; ODDS ratio; CHOLESTEROL; ONE-way analysis of variance; STATISTICS; ALTERNATIVE medicine; CONFIDENCE intervals; PSYCHOLOGICAL tests; ANTHROPOMETRY; AFFECT (Psychology); POLYSOMNOGRAPHY; DATA analysis software; DISEASE susceptibility; EPIDEMIOLOGICAL research; BLOOD pressure measurement; WELL-being; DISEASE risk factors; SYMPTOMS

Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 2014, Vol 20, Issue 11, p846

1075-5535

Academic Journal

10.1089/acm.2014.0077