A Japanese five-constitution model: validation and characterization using the constitution in Chinese medicine...

Area of Science:

• Integrative Medicine
• Traditional East Asian Medicine
• Health Psychology

Background:

• The 60-item Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ) is widely used in China but is lengthy.
• A previous study suggested a five-constitution model and an 18-item questionnaire may be more suitable for the Japanese population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the structure of the five-constitution model using an 18-item questionnaire.
• To establish the diagnostic accuracy of this simplified questionnaire for constitutional assessment in Japan.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional dataset of 851 healthy Japanese participants.
• Hierarchical clustering (NbClust package) to determine the optimal number of clusters.
• Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for cluster structure analysis and development of a decision-tree model with 10-fold cross-validation.

Main Results:

• Clustering analysis confirmed five as the optimal number of clusters.
• PCA showed clear separation of the five groups along a primary health axis.
• The 18-item decision-tree model achieved an overall accuracy of 81.6% and balanced accuracy of 81.3% in classifying participants into five constitution types.

Conclusions:

• The 18-item simplified questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for constitutional assessment in Japan.
• This concise tool retains the structural and predictive information of the original 60-item CCMQ.
• It offers a practical solution for large-scale research and personalized health management.