Development of an Assessment Tool of Menstrual-Cycle-Related Signs and Symptoms Based on Thai Traditional Medicine Principles for Evaluation of Women’s Health

Table 1

The external and internal factors affecting MCSs according to TTM knowledge.

Factors affecting MCSs according to TTM knowledge [10, 29]	Example of the factors
Internal factors
Personal data	Age, major elements in the human body, obesity
	Medical history	Underlying illness or health problems (migraine, asthma, atopic dermatitis, insomnia, constipation, etc.), accident, abdominal surgery
Ob-gynecologic history	Pregnancy and childbirth history, postpartum care, abortion, curettage, contraceptive use
	Gynecological disease, age at menarche, first time menstrual-cycle-related symptoms began, family history (grandmother/mother/sister/twin)
Emotion	Angry, irritability, anxiety, stress, sad, depressed
Behaviors	Skipping meals, being in the same position for a long time, working excessively, sleep deprivation, often sleeps late
External factors
Types of food	Uncooked food or raw food, strong-flavored food, preserved food, fried food, oily food
Types of drink	Energy drinks, carbonated drinks, iced drinks, frappe, coconut juice, alcoholic drinks, caffeinated drinks
Environment	Contact with chemicals, hot weather, cold weather, climate change immediately