Multivariate Analysis as a Method for Evaluating the Conceptual Perceptions of Korean Medicine Students regarding Phlegm Pattern
Table 3
Symptom preference for phlegm pattern diagnosis.
Symptom
Ranking (score mean)
First year
Second year
Third year
Fourth year
Fifth year
Feeling heavy in the chest
1 (3.78)
5 (3.88)
4 (3.82)
3 (4.06)
8 (3.79)
Unclearness in the head*1
2 (3.61)a
9 (3.46)a
3 (3.85)ab
5 (3.91)ab
5 (4.18)b
Feeling of foreign body in the throat*2
3 (3.57)a
1.5 (4.07)ab
1 (4.32)b
2 (4.26)b
2 (4.27)b
Sputum*2
4 (3.54)a
1.5 (4.07)ab
2 (4.28)b
1 (4.36)b
3.5 (4.22)b
Fatigue
5 (3.39)
11.5 (3.39)
13 (3.25)
12 (3.45)
10 (3.58)
Headache
6 (3.35)
10 (3.44)
10 (3.46)
14 (3.35)
14 (3.29)
Yellow face
7 (3.33)
16 (3.22)
18 (3.00)
16 (3.24)
20 (3.05)
Sickness*2
8.5 (3.30)a
11.5 (3.39)a
5 (3.65)ab
4 (3.99)bc
3.5 (4.22)c
Indigestion*1
8.5 (3.30)a
6 (3.78)b
9 (3.50)ab
7.5 (3.80)b
7 (3.88)b
Feeling of abdominal fullness*1
10.5 (3.24)a
4 (3.95)b
8 (3.54)ab
7.5 (3.80)b
6 (3.90)b
Rumbling sound in the abdomen**
10.5 (3.24)
14 (3.29)
19.5 (2.91)
18.5 (3.18)
12 (3.40)
Dizziness*2
12 (3.22)a
17 (3.20)a
7 (3.56)ab
6 (3.86)b
1 (4.42)c
Cough**
13 (3.17)
8 (3.51)
6 (3.60)
15 (3.31)
16.5 (3.14)
Shortness of breath
14.5 (3.15)
13 (3.32)
11 (3.38)
20 (3.12)
18 (3.12)
Feeling heavy in the limbs
14.5 (3.15)
22.5 (2.88)
21 (2.81)
21 (3.06)
22 (2.94)
Lumps*1
16.5 (3.11)a
3 (3.98)b
12 (3.26)a
10.5 (3.46)ab
19 (3.08)a
Dark circles under the eyes**
16.5 (3.11)
15 (3.24)
15 (3.21)
17 (3.23)
9 (3.74)
Mucousy stool
18 (3.09)
21 (2.95)
19.5 (2.91)
18.5 (3.18)
21 (3.04)
Poor appetite**
19.5 (3.07)
19 (3.00)
14 (3.24)
9 (3.48)
11 (3.48)
Flank pain**
19.5 (3.07)
7 (3.59)
17 (3.03)
13 (3.39)
16.5 (3.14)
Startled by faint noise**
21.5 (2.89)
25 (2.59)
25 (2.29)
24 (2.54)
24 (2.55)
Joint pain**
21.5 (2.89)
18 (3.12)
16 (3.07)
10.5 (3.46)
13 (3.39)
Palpitation**
23 (2.87)
22.5 (2.88)
24 (2.41)
23 (2.76)
23 (2.87)
Tinnitus
24 (2.83)
20 (2.98)
22 (2.79)
22 (2.86)
15 (3.22)
Itching**
25 (2.59)
24 (2.73)
23 (2.51)
25 (2.28)
25 (2.40)
Symptoms of same ranking scored the median value. Item that has statistically significant mean difference among groups by analysis of variance.
*
/25 by the Bonferroni correction for the multiple comparisons.
**
for the exploratory analysis.
1Scheffe’s test for the post hoc multiple comparisons of the equal variance assumed data.
2Dunnett’s test for the post hoc multiple comparisons of the unequal variance assumed data.
abcIndicators of the homogeneous subsets grouped by Scheffe’s test or Dunnett’s test in a row.
