ABSTRACT

Background: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) emphasises preventive care, with TCM constitution as the foundation of this methodology. Consequently, identifying the TCM constitution is essential for forecasting disease prognosis or prevention. This systematic review aims to examine the relationship between TCM constitution and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Methodology: The databases China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Chongqing VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE were examined from April 2009 to October 2024. The search phrases encompassed “polycystic ovary syndrome”, “Chinese medicine”, and “body constitution”. Cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies regarding the TCM constitution of patients with PCOS were included. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality standards were employed to evaluate cross-sectional studies, whilst the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was utilised to assess the quality of case-control and cohort studies. The meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 18.0 software. The effect size was expressed as a proportion and log odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A two-tailed P-value below 0.05 is deemed statistically significant. Results: Twenty-one cross-sectional studies and four case-control studies including 8,740 PCOS individuals, were considered. The findings indicated that the prevalence of Phlegm Dampness and Damp Heat constitutions is 2.76 times and 2.14 times greater than that of the healthy participants, respectively. The balanced constitution may serve as a preventive factor against PCOS, presenting a risk just 0.13 times greater than that of healthy participants. The predominant TCM constitutions in PCOS patients are Phlegm-Dampness (18%), Qi Deficiency (16%), and Blood Stasis (12%). Conclusion: The research indicates that Phlegm Dampness and Damp Heat may act as possible risk factors for patients with PCOS, whilst a balanced constitution may have a protective effect. The results indicate that the predominant Traditional Chinese Medicine constitutions in patients with PCOS are Phlegm Dampness, Qi Deficiency, and Blood Stasis.