Statistical analysis
Categorical variables were expressed as absolute number and percentage (%). Continuous variables were expressed as mean and (±) standard deviation (SD) or as median accompanied by interquartile range (IQR), as appropriate after checking for normality using the Shapiro-Wilk’s test. Categorical variables were compared with the use of the Pearson’s Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. Continuous variables were compared with the use of one-way ANOVA test or Kruskal-Wallis test, as appropriate according to data distribution.
A two-sided P value of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Data were analysed with the use of SPSS software version 27 (IBM Statistics, Chicago, Illinois).