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Acupuncture and Fertility Treatments
1: Acupunct Med. 2005 Jun;23(2):62-9. Related Articles,
Links
A survey comparing
TCM diagnosis, health status and medical diagnosis in women undergoing assisted
reproduction.
Coyle M, Smith C.
The University of Adelaide, Australia.
meaghan.coyle@adelaide.edu.au
INTRODUCTION: For
many women, undergoing assisted reproductive technology can be a difficult
experience, and can result in changes in physical and emotional health and
wellbeing. Recent research has suggested that acupuncture may be helpful for
women undergoing assisted reproductive technology. To date, there is no
information describing the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes seen in
women undergoing assisted reproductive technology, or relationships between TCM
and Western medicine diagnoses.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the health status of
women undergoing assisted reproductive technology from both Western and Chinese
medicine perspectives.
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METHODS: One hundred and eighty women were included in
the study. All underwent a TCM diagnosis, 177 (98.3%) completed the quality of
life questionnaire SF36. Information about Western medicine diagnosis was
collected from case notes and was available for 176 (97.7%) women.
RESULTS:
Women in the trial reported poorer health on several domains of the SF36
compared with the South Australian population. The most common TCM diagnosis
was 'Kidney Yang deficiency', diagnosed for 53.9% of patients. A TCM diagnosis
of Qi or 'Blood stagnation' was associated with poorer quality of life on the
mental health, emotional role function and social function domains of the SF36.
No associations were found between TCM diagnosis and physical or general health
components of the SF36.
CONCLUSIONS: Associations between TCM and reproductive
health diagnoses were demonstrated. Emotional health and wellbeing is an
important aspect of patient care that needs to be addressed in clinical
practice and research studies, as the findings suggest that this aspect of
their health is often poorer during assisted reproductive technology.
PMID: 16025786 [PubMed - in process]
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