Statistical analysis was carried out using STATGRAPHICS Centurion XV software (StatPoint Technologies, Inc. Warrington, VA, USA); likewise, significance was defined at p ≤ 0.05. Data are reported as mean ± standard error of the mean (sem). Intra-group statistical comparisons were performed using the following hypothesis tests, both parametric and non-parametric: t-test, sign test and signed rank test for paired samples. Inter-group statistical comparisons were performed using the one-way analysis of variance and the Kruskal-Wallis hypothesis tests. Also, Fisher's least significant difference (LSD) Multiple Range Test and Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) were used in order to determine which means were significantly different from the others. In addition, Generalized Multiple Regression was used to statistically analyze the relationships between the variations in the lipid profile and the different factors included in the study.