Genetic Characteristics of Sasang Typology: A Systematic Review

A systematic review on studies related to the genetic characteristics of Sasang types was conducted with the goal of delineating genetic characteristics of Sasang typology. Six electronic databases of up to the March 2011 were examined with the key words of Sasang typology, constitution, and genetics in both Korean and English. Predefined review criteria were used, including demographic characteristics, type classification methods, genotyping methods, and genotypes. Fifty-nine potentially relevant studies were identified and 40 peer reviewed research articles that contained genetic data were included. Fourteen articles reported statistically significant differences among Sasang types, which are heritability, structural variation, genome-wide screening, and pathophysiological function. Although significant genotypes were reported with vWA, CSF1PO, Penta D, HLA-Cw*04, HLA-Cw*07, PPAR-γ, MDR1, IL-α, IL-β, and IL-6 receptor, results of the review indicate that there was no conclusive genotype related to the Sasang typology. Considering the features of Sasang typology, it is recommended that the macroscopic systems medical approach on genetics be employed, rather than the single genes association approach.