Quantifying Liver-Stomach Disharmony Pattern of Functional Dyspepsia Using Multidimensional Analysis Methods

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine
• Quantitative psychology
• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Background:

• Functional dyspepsia (FD) presents complex patterns in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
• Accurate quantification of TCM patterns is crucial for effective clinical application.
• Existing methods may not fully capture the multidimensional nature of TCM patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a quantitative model for measuring the severity of a TCM pattern in functional dyspepsia (FD).
• To utilize multidimensional analysis, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multidimensional item response theory (MIRT), for pattern quantification.

Main Methods:

• Constructed a scale and theoretical models based on the "liver-stomach disharmony" pattern of FD.
• Validated the theoretical model using CFA with data from 502 patients.
• Employed MIRT to estimate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale for pattern quantification.

Main Results:

• Developed a 12-item scale identifying three latent traits of the TCM pattern.
• The theoretical model demonstrated adequate consistency with clinical data (RMSEA < 0.05, CFI = 0.94).
• The instrument showed adequate factor loading and precision for assessing moderate pattern severity.

Conclusions:

• An interpretable instrument for TCM pattern quantification in clinical practice was successfully developed.
• The multidimensional model provides a valuable reference for interpreting complex diseases like FD and TCM patterns.
• This approach integrates psychological and physical effects for a comprehensive understanding of TCM patterns.