Trial of Objective Diagnosis of Blood Deficiency Using a Skin Moisture Meter / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

[Purpose] In Kampo medicine, blood deficiency is considered to cause systemic symptoms such as insomnia and dizziness, in addition to skin-related symptoms such as xeroderma. Diagnosis of blood deficiency does not appear to be definitive since it is based on subjective judgment. To resolve this problem, we have attempted to establish an objective method for diagnosing blood deficiency by measuring skin moisture.[Methods] Using a skin moisture meter, we measured the skin moisture (at the neck, forearm, and abdomen) of 80 women during their first examination at our clinic. The patients were also classified according to their blood deficiency scores.[Results] A statistically significant difference was observed between patients with blood deficiency and those without blood deficiency with regard to the skin moisture at the neck and forearm. The coefficient of correlation between the skin moisture of the neck and the blood deficiency score was -0.41.The results of statistical analysis performed using a type1quantification method revealed high values even for some conditions not associated with the skin, such as hypomenorrhea and excessive strain of the abdominal muscles, in addition to high values for skin-associated conditions. And in pre-post-treatment comparisons, improvements in blood deficiency scores generally matched transitions in keratinous moisture.[Discussion] Due to the absence of a high correlation between skin moisture and the blood deficiency score, it is unlikely that skin moisture can be used instead of the blood deficiency score as a parameter for the accurate diagnosis of blood deficiency.[Conclusion] Although skin moisture levels may be an indicator of blood deficiency, further studies are required before this parameter can be applied in clinical diagnosis.