Table 1.
Characteristics of the subjects.
| Asthma | Healthy control | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | 36 | 14 | |
| Gender (male/female) | 10/26 | 2/12 | |
| Age | 40 (18-68) | 37 (21-67) | |
| Atopy# | 22 | 5 | |
| Smoking (mean pack years) | |||
| Current | 9 (6) | 0 | |
| Previous | 3 (11) | 0 | |
| Use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) | 24 | 0 | |
| Daily dose of ICS | 541 ± 391 μg | - | |
| ASA intolerance | 3 | 0 | |
| Use of ACE inhibitors | 5 | 0 | |
| Exhaled nitric oxide | 18.4 ± 15.0 | 14.6 ± 6.59 | 0.376 |
| FEV1 (% from predicted)¶ | 90.0 (67-122) | 92.8 (78-110) | 0.418 |
| Mean daily PEF variability (%) | 7.90 ± 5.75 | - | |
| Needed rescue medication doses during pre-test week | 0.83 (0-4) | - | |
| CDR Hypertonic saline coughs/(mOsm/kg) | 0.012 ± 0.010 | 0 | <0.001 |
| CDR Hyperpnoea of dry air coughs/MVV% | 0.464 ± 0.514 | 0.011 ± 0.024 | <0.001 |
Age, FEV1 and needed rescue medication doses mean (range). # Atopy was assessed as ≥3 mm mean wheal diameter in the skin prick test to at least one common aeroallergen. Daily dose of ICS, exhaled NO, mean daily PEF variability and CDR (cough-to-dose ratio) mean ± SD. ¶ Reference values are those of Viljanen et al. [34]