*4.5. Statistical Analysis*

The urinary fucoidan values after fucoidan ingestion were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) or one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test for multiple comparisons. SAS version 9.4 (Statistical Analysis Software 9.4, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was used to perform statistical analyses.

The Mann–Whitney U-test was used to analyze between-group differences. Statistical correlations were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. In addition, multiple regression analysis was performed with *H. pylori* infection as the dependent variable and age and mozuku consumption as the independent variables. The results were expressed as the hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. *P* < 0.05 indicated a statistically significant difference.
