Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41163073›Full record

ArticleBioPsychoSocial medicine2025

Biopsychological pattern underlying the psychosomatic symptoms of patients with Hwabyung from a universal perspective.

Han Chae, Soo Jin Lee, Seok In Yoon, Hui-Yeong Park, Jong Woo Kim

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BioPsychoSocial medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Han Chae *School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8698-8229
Soo Jin Lee *Department of Psychology, Kyungsung University, Busan, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5543-7301
Seok In YoonDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, College of Korean Medicine, KyungHee University, 892 Dongnam-ro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1634-0395
Hui-Yeong ParkDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, College of Korean Medicine, KyungHee University, 892 Dongnam-ro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-0433-4736
Jong Woo KimDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, College of Korean Medicine, KyungHee University, 892 Dongnam-ro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea. aromaqi@khu.ac.kr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4156-5193

Funding

Ministry of Health and Welfare RS-2020-KH087934
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHwabyung is a psychiatric syndrome originally described in Korea that presents as chronic psychosomatic distress with emotional dysregulation and heightened somatic arousal. However, no objective analysis to clarify its progressive mechanism within a universal biopsychological framework has as yet been done that incorporates insights from traditional East Asian medical psychology.

methodsWe recruited 118 patients with Hwabyung and assessed their psychological and somatic symptoms using the Hwabyung Test (HB). Levels of depression, anxiety, and anger expression, as well as biopsychological features were evaluated with the Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Psychological and somatic symptoms of Hwabyung were predicted through a regression analysis that used three SPQ subscales: behavioral activation (SPQ-B), cognitive flexibility (SPQ-C), and emotional responsiveness (SPQ-E). Hwabyung subgroups were identified by K-means analysis and their psychosomatic and biopsychological patterns were analyzed with HB and SPQ through ANCOVA and Profile Analysis to explore underlying biopsychological dimensions beyond culture-specific frameworks.

resultsThe SPQ subscales explained 26.0% of the psychological and 14.3% of the somatic symptoms of Hwabyung. Three distinct Hwabyung subgroups (mild, moderate, and severe) were identified based on the severity of psychological and somatic symptoms. Patients with severe symptoms showed a unique SPQ subscale profile with high SPQ-B, low SPQ-C, and low SPQ-E scores, reflecting volatile, aggressive, rigid, pessimistic, repressed, and isolated biopsychological characteristics. DISCUSSION: This study suggests a representative SPQ subscale profile of Hwabyung and underlying mind-body interaction mechanisms within East-Asian biopsychological theory. It offers a more comprehensive and generalizable understanding of Hwabyung and other culture-bound psychosomatic syndromes, supporting improved diagnostic and intervention strategies across populations.

Indexed as

Culture-bound syndromeEum-Yang psychologyHwabyungHwabyung testPsychosomatic symptomsSasang personality questionnaire

Identifiers

PMID41163073
PMCPMC12573897

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.