Proportion of patients with Yama gosin (sinusitis) availing Traditional Medicine Services at three district hospitals in Bhutan, 2021 – 2022: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Yama gosin (sinusitis) is one of the top ten diseases reported by Traditional Medicine sector in Bhutan. Yama gosin is categorised as kar, nak and thrawa. It is caused by disturbance of sin residing in nostril, sinuses and head resulting in the imbalance of the three humours. The study reports on the proportion of patients with Yama gosin, and dietary and lifestyle patterns among those presenting to Traditional Medicine Units in three selected district hospitals. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Traditional Medicine Units at Paro, Punakha, and Wangdue Phodrang Hospitals between August 2021 and January 2022. This was a convenience sampling and data were collected using a questionnaire. Results: The overall proportion of patient with Yama gosin was 3.65% (535 out of 14566 patients). There were 312 patients (4.64%) out of 6711 at Paro Hospital, 129 patients (5.17%) out of 2497 at Punakha Hospital, and 94 patients (1.75%) out of 5358 at Wangdue Phodrang Hospital. The majority of the patients reported never consuming Phulu (455, 85.02%) and fermented cheese (310, 57.87%). Among meat items, most of the patients never consumed yak meat (322, 60%) and pork (267, 49.9%). Conclusion: The proportion of Yama gosin reported in these three hospitals is slightly lower than reported from other hospitals. Patients with Yama gosin reported specific dietary and lifestyle patterns.