Pulmonary Function Difference in Sasang Constitutional Types

Jiwon Yoon; Chae Hun Leem; Jong Yeol Kim

doi:10.1155/2018/9074613

Pulmonary Function Difference in Sasang Constitutional Types

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 May 2:2018:9074613. doi: 10.1155/2018/9074613. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Jiwon Yoon¹, Chae Hun Leem², Jong Yeol Kim¹

Affiliations

¹ KM Fundamental Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34054, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Physiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul 05505, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in pulmonary function among Sasang constitutional types in young adults. The Sasang Constitutional Analysis Tool (SCAT), pulmonary function tests (PFTs), and cardiopulmonary exercise tests were conducted in 417 participants from 2009 to 2015. Subjects with the Tae-Eum (TE) type had significantly higher inspiratory capacity (IC) and inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) values than those with the So-Yang (SY) and So-Eum (SE) types (P < 0.0001). The TE and SY types showed higher forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV₁) values than the SE type (P < 0.0001). An increase in IRV and a decrease in expiratory reserve volume (ERV) in TE type males remained even after adjusting for covariate factors. These results indicate that young adults with the TE type have weaker lung function than those with the other constitutional types, suggesting its innate physiological pulmonary features.