Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of asthma patients and healthy donors
| Asthma | Controls | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects (n) | 24 | 18 |
| Age | 50·34 (24–75) | 33·88 (26–53) |
| Sex (male/female) | 5/19 | 9/9 |
| Atopic/non-atopic | 12/12 | 0/12 |
| ICS BDP dose: (n) | ||
| • < 500 μg/day | 9 | 0 |
| • 500–1000 μg/day | 8 | 0 |
| • > 1000 μg/day | 7 | 0 |
| Lung function | ||
| • FEV1 (ml) | 2623 (1470–5100)* | 3937 (3350–4550)* |
| • FEV1%pred | 94·5 (65–119)* | 108·5 (65–136)* |
| • FVC (ml) | 3220 (1220–5960)* | 4789 (3850–5730)* |
| • FVC%pred | 100·4 (79–132) | 108·2 (96–128) |
| • FEV1/FVC ratio | 76 (57–105)* | 83·2 (72–88)* |
| FeNO (ppb) | 35 (11–82)* | 20 (14–34)* |
| ACT | 22 (16–25) | 25 |
| Current smokers (%) (yes/no) | 8·3% (2/22) | 44% (8/10) |
| Packs years | 10 | 7 |
| Years of diagnosis | 12·7 (1–55) | |
| Rhinitis (yes/no) | 18/6 | 0/17 |
| Nasal polyps (yes/no) | 8/16 | 0/17 |
Results are expressed as mean (range). ICS BDP dose: inhaled corticosteroid dose μg/day beclomethasone; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; FeNO: exhaled nitric oxide; ppb: parts per billion; ACT: asthma control test. Pack years: averaged over the complete life-span. Differences between means were tested for lung function and FeNO by Mann–Whitney U-test,
*
P ≤ 0·05.