Objective

2

To clarify the distribution law and the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes of endometriosis.

Methods

2

A large sample multi-center epidemiological survey was conducted in 1918 endometriosis patients with a self-made “Clinical Epidemiological Survey Questionnaire of TCM Syndromes of Endometriosis”. The collected data included general information， menstrual condition， TCM syndromes and symptoms and tongue manifestation， based on which an Excel database was conducted. The SPSS 22.0 software was used for frequency analysis； factor analysis was performed to extract the TCM syndrome elements of endometriosis including nature and location of disease； cluster analysis was used to summarize the main TCM syndrome types and distribution rules of endometriosis.

Results

2

A total of 85 meaningful items related to the four examinations of endometriosis were included； menstruation-related items were inhibited menstruation or large menstrual clots， prolonged menstruation with abdominal pain during menstruation， distending pain of the breasts during and before menstruation， and large amount of white leukorrhea. The top ten symptoms were mental and limbs fatigue， sore and weak loins and knees， impatience and irritability， fear of cold with cold limbs， weak breathing and want of speech， preferring hot drinks， profuse dreaming， less sleep and waking up easily， sallow yellow complexion， and dry mouth. The top ten （frequency＞10%） tongue manifestations were white coating， thin coating， light red tongue， red tongue， pale dusky tongue， thick coating， mirror-like tongue， black red tongue， yellow coating and teeth-marked tongue. Factor analysis showed that the syndrome elements related to location of disease were uterus， liver， kidney， spleen， and stomach； syndrome elements related to nature of disease were phlegm， rheum， dampness， heat， fire， cold，

qi

stagnation， blood stasis， yin deficiency， yang deficiency， blood deficiency， and

qi

deficiency. Cluster analysis suggested that endometriosis can be divided into five syndrome types， namely，

qi

stagnation and blood stasis due to congealing cold syndrome （34.1%）， damp-heat and blood stasis syndrome （20.0%）， liver constraint， kidney deficiency and blood stasis syndrome （19.0%）， phlegm，dampness and blood stasis syndrome （16.4%），

qi

deficiency and blood stasis syndrome （10.5%）.

Conclusion

2

The pathogenesis of endometriosis is complicated， mostly with deficiency-excess complex. The main type include i）

qi

stagnation and blood stasis due to congealing cold syndrome， ii) damp-heat and blood stasis syndrome， iii） liver constraint， kidney deficiency and blood stasis syndrome， iv） phlegm，dampness and blood stasis syndrome， and v）

qi

deficiency and blood stasis syndrome.