2.9. Statistical Analysis

In order to detect a large effect size (Cohen d = 0.8), a sample size of 15 participants was determined to be necessary, with a statistical power of 80% and a significance level of 5% [22]. Categorical variables were described using frequencies and percentages. Continuous variables were expressed as medians and interquartile ranges (IQR, 25th; 75th percentiles). Pre- and post-dichotomous dependent variables were evaluated using McNamar’s test. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare continuous variables before and after the 6-month period. Spearman’s correlation coefficient test was used to study associations between continuous variables; >0.36 was considered as a moderate correlation, while r > 0.67 was considered as a high correlation. Continuous variables were compered between categorical variables using the Mann–Whitney test. All the statistical tests were two-sided, and all p-values were adjusted by the false discovery rate. p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software (IBM SPSS STATISTIC version 28, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA, 2021).