Data analysis
Continuous data were verified for normality using the
Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. According to the distribution of the
variables, descriptive statistics were reported as mean ± standard
deviation or median and interquartile range (IRQ). Unpaired or paired
t-test was employed for analyzing continuous data and the chi-squared
test for categorical data. The Mann-Whitney U test was employed to
compare the differences between two independent groups in case of
dependent variables, which were not normally distributed. Logistic
regression analysis was used to examine the odds ratio (OR) with a 95%
CI of (categorical or continuous) independent variables with one
dichotomous dependent variable. Correlation measurements were tested
using Spearman’s Rho test. A two-sided P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered
statistically significant.