Statistical Analyses
All statistical tests were conducted using the Statistical Package for
the Social Sciences 25.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to analyze normality of the data.
Continuous data are expressed as mean ± SD, and categorical data are
expressed as percentages. Student’s t-test or Mann Whitney U test was
used to compare unpaired samples as needed. Chi-square test was used to
assess differences in categorical variables between groups. The
relationships among parameters were assessed using Pearson’s or
Spearman’s correlation analysis according to normality of the data.
Primary analysis used ANOVA to compare all reported data for parametric
variables, whereas Kruskall–Wallis test was used for comparison among
non-parametric variables between the MAD subjects, MVP subjects and
controls. Significance was assumed at a 2-sided p<0.05.