Table 1.
Main characteristics of the groups under study.
| Disease | No | Age | Gender (M/F) | Smoking habit (yes/no/ex) | FEV1 (% pred) | ICS therapy (yes/no) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy controls | 14 | 40.4 ± 13.1 | 6/8 | 0/14/0 | 102.4 ± 8.9 | 0/14 |
| Asthma (all) | 64 | 45.8 ± 16.5 | 28/36 | 7/45/12 | 92.6 ± 13.9 | 41/23 |
| ICS untreated | 23 | 42.0 ± 14.7 | 8/15 | 3/14/6 | 99.0 ± 10.7 | 0/23 |
| ICS treated | 41 | 47.2 ± 17.7 | 20/21 | 4/31/6 | 88.7 ± 14.2 | 41/0 |
| COPD (all) | 73 | 71.1 ± 7.6 | 60/13 | 18/9/46 | 49.8 ± 17.7 | 73/0 |
| Moderate | 38 | 71.6 ± 7.3 | 29/9 | 11/6/21 | 63.3 ± 10.6 | 38/0 |
| Severe | 35 | 69.8 ± 7.8 | 31/4 | 7/3/25 | 34.3 ± 9.9 | 35/0 |
| IPF | 38 | 70.2 ± 7.4 | 16/22 | 3/19/16 | 78.0 ± 21.2 | 9/29 |
| Bronchiectasis | 19 | 55.5 ± 13.0 | 5/14 | 0/14/5 | 87.3 ± 22.0 | 13/6 |
FEV1: forced expiratory volume 1 sec; ICS: inhaled corticosteroids; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IPF: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.