title: Seasonal variations of prescriptions for the major syndrome types and manifestations of upper respiratory tract infection in tradition Chinese medicine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal variations of prescriptions for the three most common syndrome types and the three major manifestations of upper respiratory infections (URIs) according to the theories of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study. We examined a random sample comprising 1,000,000 beneficiaries from the National Health Insurance program in 2005. Primary diagnoses including International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification Codes 460-465 and 487 were regarded as URIs, for which 160,357 prescriptions of Chinese herbal medicine were analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  We estimated the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of three categories of Chinese herbal formulae (CHF) used to treat the three most common types of URIs and another CHF used to alleviate manifestations of URIs throughout the four seasons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The OR for pungent-cool CHF used to relieve external syndromes was highest in the summer (OR=1.07). The OR for pungent-warm CHF used to relieve external syndromes was highest in the winter (OR=1.14). The OR for CHF used to alleviate cough and reduce sputum production was highest in the spring (OR=1.00). The OR for CHF used to alleviate nasal discharge and congestion was highest in the winter (OR=1.19).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are seasonal variations of prescriptions for the major syndrome types and manifestations of URIs in TCM. The results of this study may serve as a reference for TCM physicians in medical preparation and clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; Linsen, Chinese Medicine, and Kunming Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei 108, Taiwan; Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Heping Fuyou Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yuh-Hsiang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yiing-Jenq
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hospital and Health Care Administration, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Medical Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan. Electronic address: cypu@ym.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Christy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pu
authors.affiliation: Community Medicine Research Center and Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pesus
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012621:Seasons; D013577:Syndrome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: Chinese herbal formula; Chinese herbal medicine; National Health Insurance; Seasonal variation; Traditional Chinese medicine; Upper respiratory tract infection