A Theoretical And Clinical Epidemiological Survey Of Depression Treatment From The Lung

Objective:Depression is a kind of mental disease which includes a series of symptoms such as depressed mood,decreasing interest and vitality as well as a lowself-assessment.The severe patients even have symptoms including hallucination,delusion and suicide.With the accelerating development of society and the increasing pressure of work,the incidence of depression increases,and becomes a threat to human health as well as the society.There are continuous researcheson the causes and therapies of depression all over the world,among which TCM has its unique advantages in terms of identifying cause of disease and treatment.According to TCM,the cause and pathogenesis of depression is associated with viscera,mainly manifesting as liver qi disorder,accompanied by deficiency of both heart and spleen,heart-spirit dysfunction,deficiency of liver and kidney yin,qi depression transforminginto fire and so on.As a result,methodsof soothing liver and relievingdepression,nourishing heart and invigorating spleen,clearing heart and tranquilizing mind,nourishing yin and kidney are employed in treatment.According to TCM literature and clinical observation,the lungs rule qi,in charge of ascent and dispersion,purificationand descent,and thus they are important in the free flow of qi.Depression is a kind of stagnation syndrome,with its root being qi disease,caused by qi disorder.Thus,dysfunction of the lungs should be considered in both disease cause and pathogenesis.Theoretically,the lung should be the focus of treatment of depression for thesake of efficacy.Based on literature and 120 patients of depression,we come to the conclusion that depression is related to the lungs,which will guide the diagnosis and therapy of depression.Methods:Methods of theoretical study and clinical epidemiological survey are employed in the research.Besides,literature research,the views of depression of different medicine schools and clinical research are included in the study.The 120 cases of depression are collected by questionnaire(including the general patient information,complaints,symptoms and signs about depression and other symptoms and signs,etc.).All the patients are from Shandong Provincial Hospital of TCM,Zhonglu Hospital,Infirmary of Shandong University of TCM and Yiyuan Psychiatric Center.We collate the data and put them in computer,which are analyzed by SPSS17.0.The result is statistically significant.Results:120 cases of depression are collected,82 of whom are femaleand 38 are male.The youngest patient is 16-year-old,and the oldest is 60-year-old,and the average age is 41.19.There are 95 married cases and 25 single cases.Those with college education and second education are among the highest incidence of depression,33.33% and 29.2% respectively.The cases aged between 50 and 60 are at the highest incidence rates(30%),and the second age bracket is 30-40(24.2%).The retired patients are at the highest incidence rate(22.5%),and the second is students(14.17%).Autumn(42%)is high-incidence season,and the second is summer(30%).There are 7 patterns for all syndromes,including liver qi depression(35.0%),deficiency of both lung qi and spleen qi(15.0%),deficiency of both the heart and spleen(15.0%),qi stagnation transforming into fire(13.3%),deficiency of heart and kidney(11.7%),stasis of phlegm and qi(6.7%)and dysfunction of heart spirit(3.3%).Amongthem,the MDD(major depressive disorder)mainly manifest as liver qi depression(8 cases,6.7%)and qi stagnation transforming into fire(4 cases,3.3%).No male case fits into the pattern of the deficiency of lung and spleen qi,but the female cases accounts for 15%.In our survey,liver qi depression syndrome cases are the most,followed by deficiency of both heart and spleen,deficiency of both lung and spleen qi.The MMD patients are related to chest distress,breathlessness,fatigue,amnesia,anxiety,suicidal thought or behavior,etc.The mild depression patients are associated with palpitation,dry mouth and throat and so on.The fundamental cause of depression is root deficiency,namely,the deficiency of qi and blood of the body,hypoactivity of viscera.As is illustrated by Canon of Medicine,“pathogen tends to invade those of qi deficiency”.Qi is the foundation of body,the sufficiency of which contributes to the production of essence,qi,blood and body fluid.The lungs are the dominator of qi,in charge of the formation of qi,the sufficiency of which leads to adequate essence,qi,blood and body fluid,and the normal function of human body.Conclusions: 1.Liver qi depression is the major cause of depression.2.Deficiency of lung qi and spleen qi is the second reason for depression,and autumnis high-incidence season of depression,which is closely related to sorrow and anxiety.3.Deficiency of root is the basic pathogenesis of depression,among which lung qi deficiency is an important cause.