Statistical analysis
REGRESSIONS
Categorical variables were expressed as absolute values and relative frequency (%). The chi-squared test was used to identify associations between categorical variables. The normality of distribution of the continuous variables was verified with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Asymmetry was evaluated based on histograms and Q-Q graphs. Normal data were expressed as means ± standard deviation, while non-normal data were expressed as medians and interquartile range.Pairwise comparisons of continuous variables of independent groups were made with Student’s Furthermore, multiple linear regressions were conducted to verify the existence of independent associations between the study variables and reduction in FMT at 6 months (dependent variable), the most significant parameter in the univariate analysis. All parameters significant at the level of 10% (All statistical analyses were performed with the software SPSS for Macintosh v. 23 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). The level of statistical significance was set at 5% (