Association between Traditional Chinese Medicine constitution and geriatric functional impairment evaluated by the integrated care for older people approach in the elderly

This study analyzed the association between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitutional types and six functional impairments (cognition, mobility, nutrition, vision, hearing, depression) in elderly individuals, as assessed by the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) tool. A total of 392 participants (mean age 71.94 ± 5.37 years) were recruited from outpatient TCM clinics and long-term care (LTC) stations. TCM constitution was assessed using the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire–Elderly Edition (CCMQ-EE), and geriatric function was evaluated with the ICOPE tool. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between TCM constitution and each functional impairment. LTC participants were older (mean age 73.61 vs. 71.28 years, p <0.001) and had a higher proportion of female participants (82.1% vs. 53.9%, p <0.001) compared to outpatient clinic participants. The latter showed higher pathologic TCM constitution scores, while LTC participants scored higher for Balanced constitution. Overall, 29.1% of participants had no ICOPE impairments, predominantly with Balanced constitution (60.5%). In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, Yin-deficiency was the most prevalent constitution among participants with any ICOPE impairment and was significantly associated with cognitive impairment (OR=1.68, p =0.042) and hearing loss (OR=2.22, p =0.014). In addition, both Yin-deficiency (OR=2.85, p <0.001) and Blood-stasis (OR=2.04, p =0.034) were independently associated with visual impairment. Regarding nutritional status, Qi-deficiency (OR=3.02, p =0.004) and Blood-stasis (OR=2.54, p =0.025) showed significant associations with malnutrition. Furthermore, Qi-depression was independently associated with both visual impairment (OR=2.10, p =0.030) and hearing loss (OR=2.42, p =0.021) after adjustment for potential confounders. These findings suggest that constitution-based assessment may help identify older adults at higher risk of functional impairments. • TCM constitution profiles were linked to ICOPE-defined functional impairments. • Yin-deficiency was most prevalent among those with ICOPE impairments and was associated with cognitive impairment and hearing loss. • Yin-deficiency and Blood-stasis were associated with visual impairment. • Qi-deficiency and Blood-stasis were associated with malnutrition. • Qi-depression was associated with visual impairment and hearing loss.