Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine in medical practice：a survey of community residents in Beijing,China

OBJECTIVE:To investigate how community residents in Beijing understood and used Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) in their medical practice.METHODS:This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 3410 community residents from four large communities of Tongzhou district in Beijng,China.A validated, self-administered questionnaire comprised of three sections was used to gather the data.A systematic sampling procedure was applied to recruit the community residents.RESULTS:A total of 3410 participants completed the questionnaire survey.It showed that in highly educated residents, 33.4%(170) knew of the names of 3-10 Chinese herbals, 35.8%(182) knew of names of 3-10 traditional Chinese patent drug.Among all the respondent residents, 80.7%(2753)believed that TCM herbal therapy and TCM non-drug treatments were effective in disease treatment, health enhancement, 85.7%(2923) had taken traditional Chinese patent drug in their life,56.8%(1937) of residents had used herbal decoction, 40.0%(1365) had received non-drug treatment of TCM, such as acupuncture, massage, cupping, auricular acupuncture.Among the elderly residents, 11.4%(98) often used Chinese patent drug and 9.8%(85) often used herbal decoction.In addition, 70.8%(2415) of residents were willing to accept knowledge and information on TCM for health enhancement and disease prevention, such as medicated diet, medicinal tea, Tai Chi and Qi Gong, although 82.8%(2825) of residents had never used them.CONCLUSION:Chinese patent drug and herbal decoction are widely used in the communities in Beijing, and there existed a possible close correlation between high educational level and better understanding of TCM.Age and occupation also correlated with the attitude to TCM therapies.The characteristics of the residents should be considered seriously in the course of promoting the understanding and application of TCM.

Correlation between tobacco and alcohol use and Traditional Chinese Medicine constitutions: an analysis based on a sample from general population of China

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the relationship between smoking and drinking and constitution types from Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)theory.METHODS:The Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire(CCMQ)was used.A sample of 8448subjects from nine provinces and municipalities was chosen from the database of the TCM constitution and health status survey.Constituent ratio and correspondence analysis were used to find the relationship between smoking and drinking and TCM constitution.RESULTS:There was an association between smokinganddrinkingandtheGentleness,phlegm-dampness,and dampness-heat type constitutions.People that did not smoke tobacco or drink alcohol tended to have Yang-deficiency,Yin-deficiency,Qi-depression,Qi-deficiency,special diathesis,orblood-stasis type constitutions.CONCLUSION:There was a significant correlation between tobacco and alcohol use and TCM constitutions.To improve patient health,more attention should be paid to tobacco and alcohol control.