Relationship of the Chinese Medical Constitution & Syndromes in Patients With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

The TCM Body Constitution Questionnaire (BCQ) was developed by Su and is a tool used to measure and study constitution deviations clinically. The questionnaire comprises 44 questions and employs a Likert 5-point scale (from 1, "Never happens," to 5, "Always happens"). The instrument consists of three subscales. The yang-xu and yin-xu constitution subscales each have 19 questions, and the stasis constitution subscale has 16 questions. The three measures share some questions. The higher the score is, the more significant the constitution deviation is. When the yang-xu constitution score is ≥ 30.5, the respondent is diagnosed as yang-xu. When the yin-xu constitution score is ≥ 29.5, the respondent is diagnosed as yin-xu. For the phlegm stasis constitution, the standard is ≥ 26.5 points. The instrument has favorable factorial validity. Cronbach's α of each subscale is 0.85-0.88, and Cronbach's αof the overall BCQ reaches 0.90.

Participant reply her work schedule (Day shift, Evening shift, Night shift, Not fixed, or Unemployed)

Participant reply her average sleep duration (hours)

Participant reply her frequency(No, Sometimes, Often) of staying up late (sleeping after midnight)

Participant reply her frequency of smoking (No, Sometimes, Less than a pack a day)

Participant reply her frequency of drinking (No, Sometimes, often)

Participant reply her frequency of exercise (No, Sometimes, often)

Participant reply her dietary habit (Nonvegetarian or vegetarian)

Participant reply yes or no about her dietary flavor preference (sour, bitter,sweet, spicy, salty)

The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was established by Aaron T. Beck and his research team to measure the anxiety levels of adults and teenagers. It is a self-completed questionnaire with 21 items. The questions ask respondents whether they have experienced some common symptoms of anxiety in the previous week, including numbness or tingling, feeling hot, being unable to relax, and fear of the worst happening. The respondents report on a 4-point Likert scale that ranges from 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Severely - it bothered me a lot). The higher the total score is, the more severe the anxiety symptoms are. A total score of 0-7 implies the mildest anxiety, 8-15 is mild anxiety, 16-25 represents moderate anxiety, and 26-63 is severe anxiety. In the present study, the Chinese version of the BAI had a Cronbach's α of 0.95 and a split-half reliability of 0.92. The total scores were multiplied by 1.19, and the resulted integers were taken as the standard scores.

The Beck Depression Inventory-second edition (BDI-II) was developed by Beck . It measures the depression levels of teenagers and adults through 21 questions. It consists of questions representative of the symptoms and attitudes of depression, such as feeling sad, losing interest, decreased appetite, and feeling tired. For each item, respondents select the option that best describes how they felt over the previous 2 weeks. Every question has anchors arranged according to severity, and the score ranges from 0 to 3 points. The higher the total score is, the more severe the depression symptoms are. A total score of 0-13 points is in the normal range, 14-19 implies mild depression, 20-28 moderate depression, and 29-63 severe depression.