Table 1.
Characteristics of three groups of cystic fibrosis patients* (P value represents any difference between the three groups)
| Variable | Group A (n=50) | Group B (n=47) | Group C (n=36) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean and SD of age (years)† | 22.9 (4.49) | 27.5 (7.50) | 25.0 (6.42) | 0.002 |
| Median and interquartile range of age at time of diagnosis (months)‡ | 6.0 (22.0) | 15.0 (81.0) | 12.0 (34.5) | 0.088 |
| Sex (%)¶: | ||||
| Male | 28 (56.0) | 23 (48.9) | 26 (72.2) | 0.097 |
| Female | 22 (44.0) | 24 (51.1) | 10 (27.8) | |
| Cystic fibrosis genotype (%)§¶: | ||||
| 508/508 | 32 (63.3) | 25 (55.5) | 17 (56.7) | 0.199 |
| 508/Other | 12 (26.5) | 19 (42.2) | 9 (30.0) | |
| Non-508/non-508 | 5 (10.2) | 1 (2.2) | 4 (13.3) | |
| Liver disease (%)¶: | ||||
| Not present | 43 (86.0) | 41 (87.2) | 30 (83.3) | 0.879 |
| Present | 7 (14.0) | 6 (12.8) | 6 (16.7) | |
| Pancreatic status (%)¶: | ||||
| Insufficient | 48 (96.0) | 40 (85.1) | 35 (97.2) | 0.057 |
| Sufficient | 2 (4.0) | 7 (14.9) | 1 (2.8) | |
| Diabetes mellitus (%)¶: | ||||
| Not present | 39 (78.0) | 38 (80.9) | 27 (75.0) | 0.814 |
| Present | 11 (22.0) | 9 (19.1) | 9 (25.0) | |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa (%)¶: | ||||
| Not colonised | 5 (10.0) | 5 (10.6) | 10 (27.8) | 0.043 |
| Colonised | 45 (90.0) | 42 (89.4) | 26 (72.2) | |
| Burkholderia cepacia (%)¶: | ||||
| Not colonised | 31 (62.0) | 39 (83.0) | 32 (88.9) | 0.007 |
| Colonised | 19 (38.0) | 8 (17.0) | 4 (11.1) | |
| Smoking status (%)¶: | ||||
| Non-smoker | 43 (86.0) | 45 (95.7) | 33 (91.7) | 0.243 |
| Current or ex-smoker | 7 (14.0) | 2 (4.3) | 3 (8.3) | |
| α1 Antitrypsin phenotype (%)¶: | ||||
| Normal | 42 (85.7) | 39 (83.0) | 29 (85.3) | 0.926 |
| Deficient | 7 (14.3) | 8 (17.0) | 5 (14.7) | |
*
Group A patients had had both paediatric and adult care in a cystic fibrosis centre; group B patients had not had paediatric but had had adult care in a cystic fibrosis centre; group C patients had had no care in a cystic fibrosis centre. †One way analysis of variance. ‡Kruskal-Wallis test. §Not available for one, two, and six patients in groups A, B, and C respectively. ¶χ2 test.