Effect of Western and Korean Medicine Combination Treatment on Physical Activity in Elderly Arthropathy Patients.

IF 1.8 Q3 INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Journal of Pharmacopuncture Pub Date : 2025-06-30 DOI:10.3831/KPI.2025.28.2.81

Tae-Hyeon Lee, Su-Hyun Kwon, Ji-A Ryu, Sang-Ji Han, Il-Su Park, Chan-Young Kwon

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: This study analyzed data from the Korean Health Panel Survey (2015-2018) to determine the effects of combined Western and Korean medicine treatments on physical activity (PA) in elderly patients with arthropathy. PA was assessed using the total PA score from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

Methods: This study included 2,518 unique elderly patients, generating 8,003 annual outpatient service cases over the 4-year period. Of these annual cases, 5,384 cases (67.3%) were classified as Western medicine (WM) treatment alone, and 2,619 cases (32.7%) were classified as combined treatment (WM&KM). Descriptive statistical analysis was performed to identify changes in PA in the WM and WM&KM groups and KM medical utilization in the WM&KM group. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with control variables were used to determine the effects of the WM&KM combination treatments on PA.

Results: Both the WM and WM&KM groups showed a decline in PA over four years. However, the rate of PA decline was lower in the WM&KM group compared to the WM group. In the WM&KM group, acupuncture (50.42%) was the most utilized KM modality, followed by physiotherapy (44.17%), herbal medicine (2.51%), moxibustion (0.84%), and cupping (0.69%). The GEE analysis revealed that the total physical activity of the WM&KM group was 84.29 significantly higher than the WM group (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: While PA decreased continuously in elderly patients with arthropathy, the WM&KM group exhibited a slower decline, suggesting the effectiveness of KM treatment in mitigating PA reduction. To slow the progression of arthropathy and alleviate pain, it is crucial to provide comprehensive and proactive medical services through collaborative efforts between WM and KM.

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中西医结合治疗对老年关节病患者体力活动的影响。

目的：本研究分析了韩国健康小组调查（2015-2018）的数据，以确定西药和韩药联合治疗对老年关节病患者身体活动（PA）的影响。使用国际体育活动问卷中的PA总分来评估PA。方法：本研究纳入2518例独特的老年患者，4年间每年产生8003例门诊病例。其中，单用西药治疗5384例（67.3%），联合治疗2619例（32.7%）。采用描述性统计分析来确定WM组和WM&KM组PA的变化以及WM&KM组KM药物利用的变化。采用带控制变量的广义估计方程（GEE）来确定WM&KM组合处理对PA的影响。结果：WM组和WM&KM组在4年内PA均有所下降。然而，与WM组相比，WM&KM组的PA下降率较低。在WM&KM组中，针灸（50.42%）是使用最多的KM方式，其次是物理治疗（44.17%）、草药（2.51%）、艾灸（0.84%）、火罐（0.69%）。GEE分析显示，WM&KM组的总体力活动为84.29，显著高于WM组（p < 0.001）。结论：老年关节病患者PA持续下降，而WM&KM组PA下降较慢，提示KM治疗减轻PA降低的有效性。为了减缓关节病变的进展，减轻疼痛，通过WM和KM的共同努力，提供全面和主动的医疗服务是至关重要的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Pharmacopuncture INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE-

CiteScore

2.10

自引率

7.10%

发文量

审稿时长

10 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Pharmacopuncture covers a wide range of basic and clinical science research relevant to all aspects of the biotechnology of integrated approaches using both pharmacology and acupuncture therapeutics, including research involving pharmacology, acupuncture studies and pharmacopuncture studies. The subjects are mainly divided into three categories: pharmacology (applied phytomedicine, plant sciences, pharmacology, toxicology, medicinal plants, traditional medicines, herbal medicine, Sasang constitutional medicine, herbal formulae, foods, agricultural technologies, naturopathy, etc.), acupuncture (acupressure, electroacupuncture, laser acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, etc.), and pharmacopuncture (aqua-acupuncture, meridian pharmacopuncture, eight-principles pharmacopuncture, animal-based pharmacopuncture, mountain ginseng pharmacopuncture, bee venom therapy, needle embedding therapy, implant therapy, etc.). Other categories include chuna treatment, veterinary acupuncture and related animal studies, alternative medicines for treating cancer and cancer-related symptoms, etc. Broader topical coverage on the effects of acupuncture, the medical plants used in traditional and alternative medicine, pharmacological action and other related modalities, such as anthroposophy, homeopathy, ayurveda, bioelectromagnetic therapy, chiropractic, neural therapy and meditation, can be considered to be within the journal’s scope if based on acupoints and meridians. Submissions of original articles, review articles, systematic reviews, case reports, brief reports, opinions, commentaries, medical lectures, letters to the editor, photo-essays, technical notes, and book reviews are encouraged. Providing free access to the full text of all current and archived articles on its website (www.journal.ac), also searchable through a Google Scholar search.