2.9. Statistical Analyses
SECONDARY
Statistical analyses were performed using Python (Python version 3.8.8 or higher), Stata (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA; version 15 or higher), or R (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing Platform; version 4.0.3 or higher). For the primary outcome, to determine if there is a significant difference in the median change in β-cryptoxanthin levels from week 0 to week 2, week 0 to week 4 and week 0 to week 8 between the treatment groups, a Kruskal–Wallis test was conducted. To further find out the extent of differences in the median change in β-cryptoxanthin levels between visits between the groups, the Mann–Whitney U test was conducted. For secondary outcomes, continuous endpoints that are approximately normally distributed or can be transformed to be approximately normally distributed were analyzed using repeated measures of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for differences between the means of the control and intervention groups. Continuous endpoints that are not normally distributed were analyzed using a Kruskal–Wallis test to test for a difference in the median between the control and intervention groups. Statistical tests were conducted two-sided, and a 