Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) body constitution, environment, and disease occurrence: a spatial epidemiological study

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has long emphasized the role of natural and social environments in the physical and emotional balance of human health. Contemporary health geography also recognises that environment is indispensable in studying population health. Both TCM and health geography share some similarities in their views on the environmental effects on human health and wellbeing. This study postulates the plausible association between body constitution and disease occurrences in relation to environmental factors. Attempts to bring together health geography and body constitution theory will illuminate the way we perceive the interconnectedness between health, disease, tradition, and the living environment. This study employs spatial epidemiological approaches to quantify/qualify disease prevalence and their association with the living environment and/or body constitution. It starts by classifying individuals into groups stratified according to body constitution, demographic construct, socio-economic standing, where they live, and disease types. The neighbourhood environmental conditions are then assessed by the following attributes: percent greenery, population density, built density, air quality level, etc.). Finally, the study makes use of geostatistical techniques to put together a list of potential environmental determinants and types of body constitution with a higher statistical risk of contracting a particular disease type. The findings will offer different perspectives on human and environmental health that pertain to the Asian population. They have practical utilities in terms of guiding health professionals about possible health risks in certain neighbourhoods that enables preventive strategies to uplift the wellbeing of residents by where they live.