Statistical methods

Patients who returned questionnaires in which 20% or more items were missing were excluded from the data entry phase. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 30.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and P < 0.05 indicated that a difference was statistically significant. The normality of measurement data was evaluated with the Shapiro–Wilk test. Two independent sample t-tests were adopted and data that followed a normal distribution were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation. Enumeration data were described using frequency or percentage and chi-square tests were performed. Pearson analysis was applied for correlations. Analysis of variance for repeated measurements was used to investigate the variation of clinical evaluation indices in the various scales.