Table 1. Characteristics of study participants.
| Variable | Low IgE ACO (n = 44) | High IgE ACO (n = 104) | P value | Atopy (−) ACO (n = 95) | Atopy (+) ACO (n = 79) | P value | Low blood eosinophil ACO (n = 103) | High blood eosinophil ACO (n = 210) | P value | Low sputum eosinophil ACO (n = 25) | High sputum eosinophil ACO (n = 37) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yr) | 63.0 ± 11.0 | 61.6 ± 9.7 | 0.463 | 63.4 ± 9.4 | 60.4 ± 9.9 | 0.046 | 64.6 ± 9.9 | 62.2 ± 10.3 | 0.047 | 61.0 ± 9.6 | 65.0 ± 11.9 | 0.168 |
| Male | 37 (84.1%) | 96 (92.3%) | 0.224 | 84 (88.4%) | 74 (93.7%) | 0.353 | 89 (86.4%) | 197 (93.8%) | 0.048 | 24 (96.0%) | 34 (91.9%) | 0.905 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.7 ± 3.0 | 24.1 ± 2.7 | 0.285 | 24.4 ± 3.0 | 24.5 ± 2.5 | 0.719 | 24.0 ± 3.1 | 24.6 ± 3.9 | 0.143 | 24.2 ± 2.7 | 25.6 ± 7.4 | 0.317 |
| Smoking (pack-year) | 35.5 ± 24.49 | 34.6 ± 21.0 | 0.836 | 37.0 ± 21.7 | 31.4 ± 17.8 | 0.067 | 33.7 ± 20.2 | 36.0 ± 22.8 | 0.388 | 36.3 ± 15.5 | 35.3 ± 18.9 | 0.836 |
| Allergic rhinitis | 3 (6.8%) | 26 (25.0%) | 0.02 | 11 (11.6%) | 25 (31.7%) | 0.002 | 15 (14.6%) | 53 (25.2%) | 0.045 | 11 (44.0%) | 6 (16.2%) | 0.034 |
| WBC (/µL) | 7,707.1 ± 2,325.9 | 8,161.7 ± 2,558.2 | 0.314 | 8,224.3 ± 2,696.4 | 8,259.6 ± 2,471.9 | 0.932 | 8,845.2 ± 3,497.8 | 8,098.4 ± 2,056.0 | 0.047 | 8,973.0 ± 3,130.3 | 8,967.6 ± 3,056.6 | 0.995 |
| Eosinophil (/µL) | 242.9 ± 169.7 | 356.8 ± 320.8 | 0.007 | 282.9 ± 259.2 | 436.0 ± 589.0 | 0.041 | 81.1 ± 45.9 | 484.9 ± 467.5 | N/A | 207.3 ± 181.6 | 390.6 ± 394.6 | 0.018 |
| Neutrophil (/µL) | 4,452.5 ± 1,793.4 | 6,111.7 ± 12,225.6 | 0.202 | 4,900.7 ± 2,304.8 | 4,856.4 ± 2,093.8 | 0.902 | 7,392.6 ± 12,086.3 | 4,623.4 ± 2,433.3 | 0.028 | 6,059.5 ± 3,117.7 | 5,346.1 ± 2,555.6 | 0.347 |
| Serum total IgE (IU/mL) | 52.0 ± 30.4 | 788.4 ± 1,110.9 | 0 | 504.8 ± 799.7 | 521.0 ± 817.6 | 0.921 | 340.1 ± 526.1 | 685.0 ± 1,151.4 | 0.016 | 279.6 ± 252.0 | 449.7 ± 810.1 | 0.385 |
| Sputum eosinophil (%) | 10.1 ± 9.5 | 12.0 ± 15.5 | 0.719 | 13.9 ± 21.0 | 15.6 ± 17.0 | 0.791 | 8.0 ± 19.6 | 14.6 ± 20.3 | 0.252 | 0.3 ± 0.5 | 20.2 ± 22.5 | N/A |
| Sputum neurophil (%) | 36.0 ± 30.5 | 25.6 ± 25.4 | 0.314 | 42.6 ± 34.0 | 30.9 ± 28.9 | 0.263 | 43.5 ± 36.1 | 41.8 ± 32.9 | 0.862 | 49.5 ± 38.8 | 40.2 ± 31.0 | 0.302 |
| FeNO (ppb) | 26.0 ± 18.4 | 86.80 ± 60.2 | 0.24 | 41.3 ± 7.2 | 43.0 ± 31.7 | 0.879 | 50.0 ± 39.8 | 50.4 ± 43.7 | 0.986 | 38.3 ± 43.1 | 32.2 ± 11.26 | 0.728 |
| Pre-BD FEV1 (%) | 60.3 ± 16.7 | 54.5 ± 18.4 | 0.073 | 57.6 ± 18.9 | 54.2 ± 17.0 | 0.218 | 58.0 ± 18.8 | 55.6 ± 17.7 | 0.27 | 56.0 ± 16.2 | 45.7 ± 15.8 | 0.016 |
| Pre-BD FEV1 (L) | 1.7 ± 0.6 | 1.7 ± 0.7 | 0.473 | 1.7 ± 0.6 | 1.7 ± 0.7 | 0.846 | 1.7 ± 0.6 | 1.7 ± 0.6 | 0.961 | 1.6 ± 0.5 | 1.3 ± 0.6 | 0.013 |
| Post-BD FEV1/FVC | 55.0 ± 8.6 | 53.9 ± 8.9 | 0.495 | 54.8 ± 9.1 | 54.9 ± 8.9 | 0.905 | 55.1 ± 9.5 | 54.4 ± 9.1 | 0.557 | 58.7 ± 8.3 | 53.1 ± 9.2 | 0.018 |
| ACT scores (total 25) | 21.5 ± 3.6 | 21.1 ± 3.7 | 0.711 | 20.3 ± 4.6 | 21.3 ± 3.0 | 0.318 | 19.7 ± 5.3 | 20.0 ± 4.2 | 0.761 | 16.3 ± 6.1 | 15.8 ± 5.9 | 0.835 |
Data are presented as number (%) or mean ± standard deviation. Bold-styled values denote significant ones.
IgE, immunoglobulin E; ACO, asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap; BMI, body mass index; WBC, white blood cell; N/A, not applicable; FeNO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; BD, bronchodilator; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity; ACT, asthma control test.