Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine Body Constitutions in Understanding Mechanobiology of Depression among Young Adults

Depression is a prevalent mental health disorder among young adults and remains challenging to detect at an early stage. Increasing evidence suggests that mechanobiological processes play a significant role in the development and progression of depression. This study explores the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) body constitutions (balanced constitution and unbalanced constitutions: qi-stagnation, blood-stasis, qi-deficiency, yang-deficiency, yin-deficiency, phlegm-dampness, damp-heat, and inherited-special) and depression among young adults. A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman among 30 Malaysian university students aged 18 to 30 years using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire. Overall, 33.3% of participants met criteria for depression (PHQ-9≥10), and 73.3% demonstrated unbalanced TCM body constitutions. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that balanced constitution (B = −0.196, 95% CI: −0.288 to −0.103), qi-stagnation (B = 0.169, 95% CI: 0.057 to 0.282) and yang-deficiency (B = −0.11, 95% CI: −0.209 to −0.011) were significantly related to depression severity. This pilot study highlights the potential of integrating TCM constitutions assessment with mechanobiological perspectives to develop future early detection frameworks for depression.