Statistical Analysis
The normal distribution of continuous variables was evaluated by using
visual (histograms and probability graphs) and analytical
(Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests) methods. Statistical
differences across the groups for continuous variables were evaluated
using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Statistical differences across the groups for categorical variables were
determined using Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact tests. Spearman’s
correlation analysis was used for analyzing correlations between
continuous variables that did not conform to a normal distribution.
Statistical significance was considered at a p-value of <0.05.
For the statistical analyses, the R-version 3.6.3 was used.