Objective

2

To analyze the characteristics of kidney Yang deficiency syndrome in different stages and time evolution of chronic kidney disease （CKD） to explore the evolution patterns of kidney Yang deficiency syndrome in CKD.

Method

2

The evidence information of 256 patients with CKD was collected from October 2020 to September 2022 according to relevant standards， and the "Kidney Yang Deficiency Syndrome Evaluation Scale for Chronic Kidney Disease" was developed. With SPSS Statistics 20.0， SPSS Modeler 18.0， Gephi 0.9.2， and R 4.2.1， the syndrome information of CKD patients at various stages and the syndrome changes after one year were statistically analyzed using complex network analysis， association rule analysis， probability transition matrix analysis， and chi-square test， and the kidney Yang deficiency syndrome of patients at various stages was comprehensively evaluated.

Result

2

In the CKD population， the proportion of females with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome was higher than that of males （

P

<

0.01）， and the proportion of people over 65 years old was higher than in people under 65 years old. The proportion of people with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome increased with the progression of kidney disease， and the proportion of Ⅳ-Ⅴ CKD patients with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome was higher than that of Ⅰ-Ⅱ CKD patients （

P

<

0.01）. From Ⅰ CKD to Ⅴ CKD， the frequency of dull tongue continued to increase， and the frequency of enlarged tongue and tooth-marked tongue continued to increase after Ⅲ CKD. The frequency of thick coating and greasy coating ranked in the top 3 of frequency distribution in Ⅴ CKD. After Ⅲ CKD， the top 3 tongue characteristics were weak pulse， deep pulse， and thready pulse， all of which were characteristics of kidney Yang deficiency syndrome. Complex network analysis of the tongue and pulse showed that the core tongue and pulse characteristics of patients with end-stage CKD were tooth-marked tongue with white coating and deep and thready pulse. The results of symptom frequency analysis and complex network analysis showed that aversion to cold and preference for warmth， weakness of the knees， and cold extremities were the top 3 symptoms in Ⅰ-Ⅲ CKD patients with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome， and in Ⅳ-Ⅴ CKD， the manifestations of the syndrome of Yang deficiency and water diffusion， such as drowsiness and fatigue， edema， and frequent urination at night became characteristic symptoms. The scores of edema， pale complexion， soreness and weakness of the waist and knees， loose stools， and mental depression symptoms， as well as the total score of kidney Yang deficiency syndrome gradually increased with disease progression， with statistical differences between different stages of CKD （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）. The frequency analysis of disease-related syndrome elements showed that the frequencies of Yang deficiency syndrome， phlegm-dampness syndrome， blood stasis syndrome， and turbidity-toxin syndrome gradually increased with disease progression， and there were statistically significant differences in the distribution between different stages of CKD （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）. The results of complex network analysis showed that Yang deficiency syndrome was the core syndrome element throughout all stages of CKD and was the main syndrome element type of CKD， while phlegm-dampness syndrome， blood stasis syndrome， and turbidity-toxin syndrome were gradually revealed in the middle and late stages of CKD. In the CKD population with kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome， the distribution of phlegm-dampness syndrome， blood stasis syndrome， and turbidity-toxin syndrome as concurrent syndromes in different CKD stages had statistically significant differences （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）. The association rule analysis showed that as the disease progressed， associations between the concurrent syndromes， such as phlegm-dampness syndrome， blood stasis syndrome， turbidity-toxin syndrome， and fluid retention syndrome， and kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome were gradually enhanced. The comparison of the changes in CKD with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome within one year showed that the disease location was centered on the kidney and transmitted between the spleen， stomach， heart， and liver. There is a 23.81% probability of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome transforming into Qi deficiency syndromes （Qi deficiency in the spleen and kidney， Qi deficiency in the liver， and Qi deficiency in the heart）， 23.79% into Yin deficiency syndromes （Yin deficiency in the liver and kidney， Qi and Yin deficiency， and Yin deficiency in the liver and stomach）， and 9.52% into dampness syndromes （phlegm-dampness internal obstruction and wind-dampness obstruction）. In contrast， 20% of spleen and kidney Qi deficiency syndrome transformed into kidney Yang deficiency syndrome， and 33.33% of Qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome transformed into kidney Yang deficiency syndrome.

Conclusion

2

As Ⅰ CKD progresses to Ⅴ CKD， the severity of kidney Yang deficiency syndrome gradually increases， and the syndrome characteristics of kidney Yang deficiency become pronounced. Furthermore， the pathogenic factors， such as phlegm-dampness， blood stasis， and turbidity-toxin， gradually increase. With the change of time， kidney Yang deficiency syndrome in CKD tends to evolve into syndromes related to Qi deficiency， Yin deficiency， and dampness. The discovery of these rules provides a theoretical basis and reference guidance for the treatment of CKD based on syndrome differentiation.