Application of TCM constitution in lifetime health maintenance

Abstract

Healthy full life cycle has become an important national strategy, which indicates that attention needs to be given to human health throughout the life course. The full life cycle includes the whole process of conception and birth, development, growth, aging, and death, which has been recorded in Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitution theory, the TCM constitution focuses on the life process in a continuous evolution based on individual development at different phases or stages from infancy to senility. The development of TCM constitution is beneficial in accumulating the theoretical and practical experience for promoting the application of TCM constitution health service into the full life cycle, and providing theory, technique and method for TCM health service in the full life cycle, as well. Through this review, we've found that TCM constitution has being widely used for clinical practice, but still needs further improvement.

Keywords

• Full life cycle
• TCM constitution
• Health service