摘要
Objective: To investigate menopause-related symptoms, traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-diagnosis and hormone status of two comparable urban samples of menopausal women, one in Essen (Germany) and the other in Shanghai (China). Methods: Patients suffering from menopausesyndrome were recruited from the TCM-outpatient clinic of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany (35 subjects) and from the Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China (35 subjects). The Kupperman-lndex for tracing menopausal symptoms was applied. The complete TCM-diagnosis was carried out by the same investigator in China as well as in Germany. Testosterone and estrogen blood samples were collected once from every woman. Results: There were significant differences in specific symptoms of the Kupperman-lndex, such as a higher prevalence of formication and depression in German menopausal women; whereas Chinese menopausal women suffered significantly more from vertigo, headache and paraesthesia symptoms. Concerning TCM- diagnosis, Shen (肾)-yang deficiency was diagnosed in 51.43% of the German women in contrast to 5.71 % of the Chinese women; 17.14 % of the German women were diagnosed as having Shen-yin deficiency compared to 74.29 % of the Chinese women. The German women showed significantly lower mean hormone levels for testosterone compared to the Chinese women (P≤0.0005). Conclusions: German and Chinese menopausal women do not show different prevalence but have different patterns of menopausal symptoms. Furthermore, from a TCM point of view, German women suffer more from Shen-yang deficiency whereas Chinese women suffer more from Shen-yin deficiency syndrome. These results are supported by significantly lower levels of testosterone in German women compared to Chinese women, which, in TCM, is a characteristic of yang deficiency.
Objective: To investigate menopause-related symptoms, traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-diagnosis and hormone status of two comparable urban samples of menopausal women, one in Essen (Germany) and the other in Shanghai (China). Methods: Patients suffering from menopausesyndrome were recruited from the TCM-outpatient clinic of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany (35 subjects) and from the Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China (35 subjects). The Kupperman-lndex for tracing menopausal symptoms was applied. The complete TCM-diagnosis was carried out by the same investigator in China as well as in Germany. Testosterone and estrogen blood samples were collected once from every woman. Results: There were significant differences in specific symptoms of the Kupperman-lndex, such as a higher prevalence of formication and depression in German menopausal women; whereas Chinese menopausal women suffered significantly more from vertigo, headache and paraesthesia symptoms. Concerning TCM- diagnosis, Shen (肾)-yang deficiency was diagnosed in 51.43% of the German women in contrast to 5.71 % of the Chinese women; 17.14 % of the German women were diagnosed as having Shen-yin deficiency compared to 74.29 % of the Chinese women. The German women showed significantly lower mean hormone levels for testosterone compared to the Chinese women (P≤0.0005). Conclusions: German and Chinese menopausal women do not show different prevalence but have different patterns of menopausal symptoms. Furthermore, from a TCM point of view, German women suffer more from Shen-yang deficiency whereas Chinese women suffer more from Shen-yin deficiency syndrome. These results are supported by significantly lower levels of testosterone in German women compared to Chinese women, which, in TCM, is a characteristic of yang deficiency.
基金
the German Academic Exchange Service(Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst,DAAD,No.A/06/00013)