The Correlation Between Circadian Rhythms and Chronic Kidney Disease and Traditional Chinese Medicine Approaches to Prevention and Treatment

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a global public health issue, necessitating multifaceted approaches to its prevention and management. Contemporary chronobiology reveals that circadian rhythm disruption constitutes a significant risk factor in the onset and progression of CKD. This understanding aligns profoundly with the core principle of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) known as ‘correspondence between heaven and man’. This paper, grounded in TCM theory, systematically elucidates the unity between human physiological and pathological rhythms and the natural world. It proposes that circadian rhythm disruption primarily leads to ‘imbalance of yin and yang, and impaired pivotal functions’ within the body, thereby impairing the kidney's functions of governing water metabolism and storing essence, accelerating CKD progression. Regarding prevention and treatment, it emphasises the overarching principle of ‘following Yin and Yang, harmonising with the arts of timing,’ encompassing lifestyle interventions aligned with rhythms, TCM-specific therapies such as time-specific medication administration and acupuncture, and integrating rhythm adjustment into the pattern differentiation and treatment system. This aims to provide novel approaches for CKD prevention and treatment that combine traditional wisdom with modern scientific evidence.