Study on the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome characteristics of elderly high-risk population for stroke complicated with carotid atherosclerosis

To explore the common syndromes of elderly high-risk population for stroke complicated with carotid atherosclerosis and to provide an objective basis for clinical treatment.

From May 2012 to July 2024, 790 high-risk population for stroke complicated with carotid atherosclerosis were enrolled at Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Four diagnostic information was collected. Lantern 5.0 software was used for latent structure analysis (LTM-EAST algorithm), and SPSS 25.0 software was applied for factor analysis and hierarchial-cluster analysis to extract potential syndromes. Combined with professional knowledge, the common syndrome types of elderly high-risk population for stroke complicated with carotid atherosclerosis were determined.

A total of 91 items of four diagnostic information were collected from 790 patients. A latent structure model was constructed with 67 items of four diagnostic information with a frequency ≥10%, yielding 21 latent variables. Comprehensive clustering identified four syndrome types: syndrome of yin deficiency of liver and kidney, syndrome of damp-heat blocking the middle jiao, syndrome of liver depression and qi stagnation, and syndrome of yang deficiency of spleen and kidney. Factor analysis was conducted on 67 items of four diagnostic information with a frequency ≥10%, and 25 common factors were obtained. Hierarchial-cluster analysis was performed using these common factors, resulting in four syndrome types: syndrome of liver depression complicated with dampness and stasis, syndrome of deficiency of both qi and yin and internal accumulation of damp-heat, syndrome of disharmony between liver and spleen, and syndrome of yin-yang deficiency of the kidney. Combined with professional knowledge, four common syndrome types were finally confirmed: syndrome of yin deficiency of liver and kidney, syndrome of damp-heat blocking the middle jiao, syndrome of liver depression complicated with dampness and stasis, and syndrome of yang deficiency of spleen and kidney.

The common syndrome types of elderly high-risk population for stroke complicated with carotid atherosclerosis include syndrome of yin deficiency of liver and kidney, syndrome of damp-heat blocking the middle jiao, syndrome of liver depression complicated with dampness and stasis, and syndrome of yang deficiency of spleen and kidney. These findings can provide a reference for clinical individualized treatment.