Statistical analysis
diabetes
DIABETES
Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 25 (SPSS Inc., and Chicago, IL, USA). The data entry was checked double times by the authors. Missing data were completed using a multiple imputation approach by chained equations with 20 iterations. The Shapiro–Wilk test was used to examine the normal distribution of variables. Results were presented as frequency (percentage) for qualitative variables, mean ± SD for normally distributed continuous data, or median (interquartile range 25–75 percentile) for values with skewed distribution. For comparing the baseline characteristics between the two groups, independent samples t-test was used for normally distributed continuous variables, and Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for qualitative variables, and Mann–Whitney U test for non-normally distributed variables were used accordingly. Within-group changes were assessed by Paired samples t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test, as appropriate. Final differences between the two groups were identified using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) or rank ANCOVA (according to normality), adjusting for age, present of diabetes, and baseline values as covariates. A 