title: Association of Sasang Constitutional Type with Sarcopenia.
abstract: Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) is a unique Korean traditional medicine that classifies human beings as four distinct types named Sasang constitutional types (SCTs), based on physiologic, physical, and psychological traits. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that specific constitutional types are associated with chronic diseases, but no study has investigated the relationship between SCTs and sarcopenia. The aim of this study was to examine the association in a large population-based study. Data from 1,204 participants who completed questionnaires for life style, anthropometric evaluation, and biochemical analysis were analyzed. Classification of the SCTs was done using an integrated diagnostic method. Sarcopenia was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass/height(2) less than one standard deviation below the gender-specific normal mean of a younger group. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to assess whole body composition. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 8.6% in the Tae-eum (TE) type, 44.7% in the So-eum (SE) type, and 20.7% in the So-yang (SY) type. Multivariate analysis revealed that the SE and SY types had 9.22 (5.06-16.81; P < 0.0001) and 2.90 (1.76-4.76; P < 0.0001) greater odds of sarcopenia compared to the TE type, respectively. Our results show that the SE and SY types are significantly associated with increased prevalence of sarcopenia.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genomic Study, College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, 516 Gojan-1-dong, Danwon-gu, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan 425-707, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Ku
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genomic Study, College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, 516 Gojan-1-dong, Danwon-gu, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan 425-707, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dae Wui
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genomic Study, College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, 516 Gojan-1-dong, Danwon-gu, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan 425-707, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Mee
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Constitutional Medicine and Diagnosis Research Group, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 461-24 Jeonmin-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Si Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 461-24 Jeonmin-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Yeol
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Jungwon University, 85 Munmu-ro, Goesan-eup, Goesan-gun, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Kwan
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genomic Study, College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, 516 Gojan-1-dong, Danwon-gu, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan 425-707, Republic of Korea ; Department of Pulmonary, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, 516 Gojan-1-dong, Danwon-gu, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan 425-707, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shin