Statistical Analyses
Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21.0 (IBM Corp.,
Armonk, NY, USA) software. The data were tested for normal distribution
using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Comparison of two independent groups
was performed with the independent samples t-test and Mann–Whitney U
test. Categorical variables were compared using chi-square tests.
Categorical variables were expressed as number and percentage;
quantitative variables were expressed as either mean ± standard
deviation or median and interquartile range (IQR,
25th–75th percentile values). A
statistical difference was taken as P <0.05.