Syndrome characteristics of digestive symptoms of depression

Objective To enrich the connotation of syndromes of depression on the premise of combination of diseases and syndromes,and to provide a base for standardization of syndrome differentiation and treatment and treating different diseases with the same therapy.Methods According to the Questionnaire on Syndrome Characteristics of Digestive Symptoms of Depression,edited by the Institute for Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, the patients with depression(n=115) were chosen and graded quantitatively from the frequency, duration and intensity of symptoms.The cases according with the inclusion criteria were input into the database,and the data were analyzed by using the method of unsupervised complex system entropy clustering and SPSS 17.0 software.Results There were 6 syndrome factors summed up after clustering ensemble from common symptoms of depression,including qi stagnation,qi deficiency,blood deficiency, yang deficiency,depressive fire and phlegm-dampness.The disease location was liver involving spleen,heart and kidney.According to the result of clustering,information from TCM four examinations and syndrome differentiation,the syndrome distribution was showed as follows;there were 62 patients(53.9%) with syndrome of liver depression and spleen deficiency,33(28.7%) with syndrome of liverqi stagnation,13(11.3%) with syndrome of dual deficiency of heart and spleen,5(4.3%) with syndrome of kidney deficiency and fiver depression,and 2(1.7%) with syndrome of internal phlegm turbidity.Conclusions The major syndrome types of depression are syndrome of liver depression and spleen deficiency,as well as syndrome of liver-qi stagnation.The former is the general tendency of depression,and the latter is the core pathogenesis of depression.