In the provided PHP script, what improvements can be made to optimize the code for better readability and efficiency, especially for handling large amounts of data from a MySQL database?

The issue with the provided PHP script is that it directly executes a query without using prepared statements, leaving it vulnerable to SQL injection attacks and making it less efficient for handling large amounts of data. To optimize the code for better readability and efficiency, we should use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection and improve performance when fetching data from a MySQL database.

// Improved PHP script using prepared statements for better readability and efficiency

// Establish a connection to the MySQL database
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');

// Prepare a statement to fetch data from the database
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM mytable WHERE column = :value');

// Bind the parameter value to the statement
$value = 'some_value';
$stmt->bindParam(':value', $value);

// Execute the prepared statement
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch the results as an associative array
$results = $stmt->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

// Loop through the results and do something with the data
foreach ($results as $row) {
    // Process each row of data
}

// Close the connection to the database
$pdo = null;