Table 1 Characteristics of subjects in endotoxin exposed and reference groups.
| Exposed group n = 263 | Reference group n = 230 | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender (%) | ||
| Male | 110 (42%) | 98 (43%) |
| Female | 153 (58%) | 132 (57%) |
| Age (years)* | 57 (10) | 56 (10) |
| Height (cm)* | 164 (7) | 163 (7) |
| Smoking status (%) | ||
| Never smoker | 181 (69%) | 159 (69%) |
| Ex‐smoker | 14 (5%) | 13 (6%) |
| Current smoker | 68 (26%) | 58 (25%) |
| Pack‐years of smoking in smokers | 29 (21) | 25 (16) |
| FEV1 at baseline (ml) | 2894 (717) | 2883 (647) |
| Changes in FEV1 (ml/year)† | –31.50 (17.07) | –27.50 (14.97) |
| TNF polymorphism | ||
| A/A | 1 (1%) | 3 (1%) |
| G/A | 35 (13%) | 32 (14%) |
| G/G | 227 (86%) | 195 (85%) |
| LTA polymorphism | ||
| G/G | 50 (19%) | 35 (15%) |
| A/G | 127 (48%) | 122 (53%) |
| A/A | 86 (33%) | 73 (32%) |
| TNF haplotype‡ | ||
| Haplotype 1 (TNF_G‐LTA_A) | 299 (57%) | 268 (58%) |
| Haplotype 2 (TNF_G‐LTA_G) | 190 (36%) | 154 (34%) |
| Haplotype 3 (TNF_A‐LTA_G) | 37 (7%) | 38 (8%) |
*Age and height at the last survey.
†Annual changes in FEV1 over 20 years.
‡Haplotype frequencies, where each subject carries two haplotypes.