Traditional Chinese medicine pattern identification research on health status of astronauts in long term spaceflight
Objective To study traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome pattern of astronauts in long term spaceflight,and to summarize and elucidate the characteristics and evolvement of their holistic functional status based on TCM Pattern Identification and Classification System.Methods The Digital TCM Diagnostic Instrument and TCM Syndrome Diagnosis Scale were used to collect information from 9 astronauts in three manned missions of China Space Station,through diagnostic methods of observation,palpation and inquiry according to CM theory.Data collection was performed at various stages before,during,and after spaceflight,a total of 32 person-time digital images of tongues and facial complexion and over 2 000 data were collected.Through data mining and analysis using four diagnostic feature fusion methods,the distribution characteristics of TCM pattern among astronauts at different stages of flight and with different physical constitutions were proposed,and the health status and evolution trend of astronauts were evaluated based on the health concept of TCM.Results ⑴The astronauts showed related manifestations of 8 TCM syndromes during long term flight,among which 4 syndromes had higher scores,including Liver Depression Transforming into Fire,Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency,Heart Kidney Disharmony,and Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency.However,their syndrome differentiation were mainly based on Yin and Yang in equilibrium,with only a few individuals showing a brief deviation from the equilibrium state at a certain stage.After long-term adaptation and adjustment,they almost had returned to a state of Yin-Yang equilibrium reestablishment.⑵As the flight time increased,the proportion of Liver Depression Transforming into Fire and Qi and Blood Deficiency in Heart and Spleen syndrome increased month by month,indicating that the psychological and emotional changes and insufficient Qi and blood status during long term flight need to be focused on.⑶Physical constitution had a certain impact on the syndrome patterns during flight,the astronauts with biased constitutions had significantly higher total scores for all syndrome patterns than that of individuals with Normal-constitution,astronauts with Yin deficiency had slightly higher scores for Heart Kidney Disharmony than those with Yang(Qi)deficiency,indicating that personalized TCM conditioning measures should be developed based on the pathogenesis of TCM syndrome during different flight periods,combined with factors such as physical constitution,etc.Conclusion The research has verified the scientific nature and effectiveness of TCM pattern analysis based on"four diagnostic"methods,which could be used for achieving quantitative and comprehensive evaluation of astronaut health status from the perspective of TCM in long-term space flight.
long term manned spaceflightastronauthealth statustraditional Chinese medicineTCM pattern identification