Background: In searching of renal stone in rural communities, we found many villagers suffering multiple chronic complaints such as : arthritis, myofascial pain, back pain, headache, dyspepsia, frank paresthesia, chronic fatique, dysuria. We call these symptom as North East Health Complaints (NEHC). The NEHC are aggravated by some kinds of food; for example : bamboo shoot, fermented milled rice noodles. The principle of Thai Traditional Medicine describe the four elements assemble in human body; there are earth, fire, air and water elements. Everybody has major personal element that be identified by fertilization or birth date. The imbalance of body elements causes changing state of health or disease.

Objective: The proposes of this cross sectional analytic study is to determine the relationship between the renal stone, the NEHC, some foods and the major body elements.

Methods: The survey was performed in the rural area in Nham Pong and Muang districts, Khon Kaenprovince. Sample was the villager who volunteer to join the ongoing cohort study for risk factors of chronic renal failure in the year 2003-4.

Results: 1636 subjects entered the study, 32% are male and more than 70% were ≥40 years old. Nephrolithiasis was found in 22.5% The renal stone was diagnosed in 26%, 22.9%, 24.2%, and 24.1% of the subjects with the Earth element, Fire element, Wind element and water element as majored body element respectively. There was no statistical difference in the finding of renal stone for each element (Pearson Chi-Square, p =0.77). The mean numbers of NEHC were 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, and 4.2 symptoms in the Earth element, Fire element, Wind element and Water element respectively, with no statistically significant (Kruskal-Wallis Test, p =0.585). There is no difference in the occurrence of each symptom including the foods aggravation among the four elements (Pearson Chi-square, p>0.5).

Conclusion: People with different major body elements have equal chance to have renal stone and NEHC.

key words: major body element, Earth element, Fire element, Wind element, Water element, renal stone, NEHC, Thai Traditional Medicine, bamboo shoot, ultrasonography.