Statistical analysis
All statistical analyses were conducted using Excel and SPSS 26.0.
Qualitative data were expressed as percentages (%), differences between
groups were assessed by χ2 test, and Fisher’s exact
test was used to test significance. Normally distributed data were
expressed as the mean ± standard deviation, and differences between
groups were analysed by one-way analysis of variance. Nonnormally
distributed data were expressed as the median (minimum, maximum), and
differences between groups were tested using the Mann–Whitney U test.
Statistical significance was reached at P<0.05.