highly significantp = 0.0047
patients using Fisher’s Z test yielded a highly significant difference ( Z = 2.83; p = 0.0047, two-tailed) [ Note : When using Spearman’s correlations without outlier detection, this pattern remained qualitatively unchanged (controls: ρ = 0.559, p = 0.0103; patients: ρ = −0.339, p = 0.1990)].