Stool pattern is associated with not only the prevalence of tumorigenic bacteria isolated from fecal matter but also plasma and fecal fatty acids in healthy Japanese adults

Table 3 Stool patterns identified by factorial analysis using the 5-stool status

	Factor loadings
	1	2	3
Stool status
Stool frequency	−0.817	0.004	0.043
Stool volume	0.006	0.895	−0.035
Stool color	0.534	0.250	0.450
Stool shape	−0.607	0.475	0.012
Stool odor	−0.042	− 0.086	0.931
Variance explained by the factor (%)	26.7	21.9	21.5
Cumulative variance (%)	26.7	48.6	70.1

The values are expressed as factor load with the varimax rotation. Bolded values are stable factor load scores (≥0.4). The stool status was evaluated by each category as follows: stool frequency [1 point (2 or less times per week) to 6 points (7 or more times per week)], stool volume [1 point (smaller) to 8 points (larger)], stool color [1 point (yellow) to 6 points (dark)], stool shape [1 (severe constipation; separate hard lumps) to 7 (severe diarrhea; liquid consistency with no solid pieces)], and stool odor [1 (no smell) to 4 (severe smell)]

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