title: The traditional Chinese medicine prescription pattern of patients with primary dysmenorrhea in Taiwan: a large-scale cross sectional survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), when given for symptom relief, has gained widespread popularity among women with primary dysmenorrhea (PD). The aim of this study was to analyze the utilization of TCM among PD women in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  The use, service frequency and Chinese herbal products prescribed for PD women were evaluated using a cross sectional survey of 23,118 beneficiaries who were recruited from the National Health Insurance Research Database. The logistic regression method was employed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for utilization of TCM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 53.4% (N=12,349) of PD women utilized TCM and 92.2% of them sought TCM with the intention of treating their menstruation-related pain symptoms. PD women who do not take prescription painkillers (aOR=35.75, 95% CI:33.20-38.49) were more likely to seek TCM treatment than those who took pain medication (aOR=1.00). There were a total of 213,249 TCM visits due to PD, of which more than 99% were treated with Chinese herbal products (CHPs). Dang-gui-shao-yao-san (Tangkuei and Peony Powder) was the most frequently prescribed formula for treating PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Primary dysmenorrhea women tended to use Chinese herbal products to deal with pain-related symptoms, rather than use acupuncture. Dang-gui-shao-yao-san, which containing both sedative and anti-inflammatory agents, is the most commonly prescribed Chinese herbal formula for the treatment of PD. A well designed, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to further evaluate the efficacy of Dang-gui-shao-yao-san as a treatment women with primary dysmenorrhea is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jung-Chuan
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yueh-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital, Yangming Branch, Taipei 111, Taiwan. Electronic address: kareny@ms10.hinet.net.
authors.forename: Jung-Nien
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ruei-Chi
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital, Yangming Branch, Taipei 111, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yeh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004412:Dysmenorrhea / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: Chinese herbal product; Dang-gui-shao-yao-san; Dysmenorrhea; Prevalence