ABSTRACT
This study was designed to investigate the association between autonomic nervous activities and clinical symptoms of climacteric women with qi disturbance. Power spectral analysis of heart-rate variability (HRV) was performed in 55 climacteric patients with undefined symptoms (age;51.9±2.8). The total power of HRV in patients with hot flushes was significantly higher (529.6±529.9ms2) than that of patients without this symptom (295.4±260.8 ms2) (P<0.05). The sympathetic nerve system (SNS) index in patients with hot flushes and with jitters (2.81±2.93 and 3.16±2.78), was significantly higher than those of patients without them (1.03±0.78 and 0.87±0.72) (P<0.001 and P<0.0001, respectively). The parasympathetic nerve system (PNS) index of patients with hot flushes and patients with jitters (0.38±0.19 and 0.33±0.16) was significantly lower than those of patients without them (0.55±0.17 and 0.58±0.14) (P<0.001 and P<0.0001, respectively). These findings indicate that HRV-based assessment of the autonomic nervous system activity of climacteric women with hot flushes and jitters, which have been known as symptoms of qi counterflow in the Kampo medicine, is associated with an increase in sympathetic nerve system and a decrease in parasympathetic nerve system activity. It has been suggested that autonomic nervous activities be included in the part of pathological condition of qi in the Kampo medicine, and that evaluation of qi be used as one diagnostic tool in the practical Kampo medicine, or fusion of western and oriental medicine.