Statistical Analysis
Dates were analyzed using SPSS (version 25.0) software. Normality tests
were conducted for measurement data, where normal data were expressed as
the mean and standard deviation, while the t-test was used for
comparison between two groups. Data that did not conform to normality
were expressed as the median and
interquartile, and the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the
differences in serum MMP3 levels between the 2 groups. Statistical
significance was set at P < 0.05.