Kampo medicine linked to quality of life gains in functional somatic symptoms study

Adults with persistent physical symptoms that lack an identifiable organic cause showed measurable improvements in quality of life after treatment with Japanese traditional medicine, according to a retrospective observational study published in BioPsychoSocial Medicine. The research, led by Rie Ono and colleagues, evaluated patients treated at an outpatient department between July 2020 and March 2023, tracking their well-being from the start of Kampo therapy to six months later.

Functional somatic symptoms, often abbreviated FSS, are defined in the study as persistent somatic complaints without identifiable organic abnormalities that lead to decreased quality of life. Kampo medicine, the Japanese adaptation of traditional herbal practice, is widely used to treat these symptoms, yet the authors note that its benefits across generations of patients had remained unclear. The study was designed to evaluate Kampo treatment in patients with FSS, with a sub-analysis stratified by generation.

The research team enrolled 79 adult patients with functional somatic symptoms, of whom 58 were of working age and 21 were older adults. Quality of life was assessed comprehensively at baseline and at six months using three complementary instruments: the EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level utility value, the EuroQol Visual Analog Scale, and the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, which yields physical, mental, and role and social component summary scores. Changes were compared against established minimal clinically important difference thresholds, set at 0.05 for the EQ-5D-5L, 5 for the EQ VAS, and 3 for the SF-12. Statistical significance for the QOL scores was set at p < 0.01 after Bonferroni correction, a conservative threshold intended to limit false-positive findings across multiple comparisons.

For the overall population, the EQ-5D-5L utility value and the EQ VAS scores improved significantly from baseline to six months, with both p values below 0.001. The median changes, 0.058 for the utility value and 7 for the visual analog scale, exceeded the minimal clinically important difference thresholds, meaning the average patient’s improvement was large enough to be considered meaningful rather than merely statistically detectable. The SF-12 told a more nuanced story: the physical component summary improved with a median change of 3.2 points at p = 0.001, while the mental component summary rose by a median of 2.8 points at p = 0.002, though the mental component did not reach the MCID threshold for the group as a whole.

The most striking findings emerged when the researchers separated patients by life stage. In the working-age group, defined as those under 65 years, treatment produced significant and clinically meaningful improvements in the EQ VAS score, with a median change of 6 points at p < 0.001, and in the physical component summary, with a median change of 3.9 points at p = 0.0011. These results suggest that for adults of working age, Kampo treatment was associated with gains in self-rated health and physical functioning.

The older group, aged 65 and above, showed a different pattern. These patients demonstrated a significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the mental component summary, with a median change of 4.4 points at p = 0.002. In contrast, no significant changes were observed in the older group’s EQ-5D-5L measures or physical component summary. The authors describe these as distinct generational patterns, indicating that the apparent benefits of Kampo treatment may differ depending on the patient’s life stage.

The study’s design carries important limitations that shape how the findings should be read. As a retrospective observational study, it examined records of patients who had already received treatment rather than randomly assigning some patients to Kampo therapy and others to a control condition. Without a control group, improvements over six months cannot be attributed to Kampo medicine alone; natural symptom fluctuation, concurrent care, regression to the mean, and other factors may have contributed. The single outpatient department setting and the modest sample size of 79 patients further limit how broadly the results can be generalized.

Nevertheless, the authors conclude that the study suggests Kampo treatment may improve the quality of life of patients with functional somatic symptoms by providing comprehensive, personalized care. They propose that integrating this approach into modern practice, while considering the patient’s life stage, could offer a potential therapeutic avenue. The generational sub-analysis is presented as a practical consideration for clinicians, since working-age and older patients appeared to benefit on different dimensions of well-being.

For patients and clinicians, the study offers a structured picture of which aspects of quality of life changed and by how much. Working-age patients’ gains centered on self-rated health on the visual analog scale and physical component scores, while older patients’ gains centered on mental component scores. The published version of the article is open access, and the journal notes that the shared version is citable and carries a permanent DOI, subject to further edits before the final Version of Record appears.

Subject of Research: Quality of life outcomes of Kampo medicine treatment for adults with functional somatic symptoms, analyzed by age group

Article Title: Comprehensive quality of life outcomes of Japanese traditional medicine (Kampo medicine) for functional somatic symptoms: a retrospective observational study

Article References: Ono, R., Kikuchi, A., Takayama, S., Arita, R., Saito, N., Ishii, Y., Kamiya, T., Murakami, Y., & Ishii, T. (2026). Comprehensive quality of life outcomes of Japanese traditional medicine (Kampo medicine) for functional somatic symptoms: a retrospective observational study. BioPsychoSocial Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-026-00377-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s13030-026-00377-9

Keywords: Kampo medicine, functional somatic symptoms, quality of life, EQ-5D-5L, SF-12, retrospective observational study, Japanese traditional medicine, EQ VAS, working-age patients, older adults, outpatient care, minimal clinically important difference