Table 2.

 Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for single symptoms and signs adjusted for age, sex, and pack years of smoking; patients without asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) used as reference

Symptoms and signs	Asthma or COPD
Current
Wheeze	3.5 (2.0 to 6.6)
Attacks of dyspnoea with wheeze (asthma attack)	7.3 (2.5 to 22.1)
Dyspnoea*	4.2 (2.1 to 7.7)
Nocturnal cough	1.4 (0.7 to 2.5)
Prolonged expiration	4.1 (1.7 to 9.4)
Past
Nocturnal cough in past year	0.8 (0.4 to 1.6)
Paroxysmal dyspnoea in past year	3.4 (1.7 to 6.7)
Wheeze in past year	2.9 (1.5 to 4.9)
Symptoms provoked by non to specific stimuli†	3.7 (1.4 to 9.8)
Symptoms provoked by allergens‡	5.0 (1.9 to 13.7)
History of asthma in parents or siblings	1.0 (0.8 to 2.8)
Atopic symptoms in childhood§	1.1 (0.5 to 2.6)

^*Reporting of breathlessness (attack of dyspnoea, woken up by dyspnoea, or persistent dyspnoea) during past 2 weeks.  

^†Fog, smoke, exercise, cold air.  

^‡House dust, hay, moulds, cats, dogs, and guinea pigs.  

^§Constitutional eczema, wheezy bronchitis, or hay fever during childhood.