TABLE 3.
Asthma care and spirometry results for clinical and epidemiological cases of work-exacerbated asthma
| Characteristic |
Cases
|
P* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical (n=53) | Epidemiological (n=47) | ||
| Asthma care in past 12 months | |||
| ≥3 visits to doctor’s office | 40 (75) | 5 (11) | <0.0001 |
| Visited emergency room or hospitalized | 9 (17) | 7 (15) | 0.99 |
| Spirometry | |||
| FEV1 <LLN | 24 (45) | 17 (36) | 0.36 |
| FVC <LLN | 10 (19) | 9 (19) | 1.0 |
| FEV1/FVC <LLN | 19 (36) | 18 (38) | 0.96 |
| Airflow obstruction† | 15 (28) | 11 (23) | 0.74 |
| % predicted spirometry, mean ± SEM | |||
| FEV1 | 80.4±2.2 | 84.7±2.3 | 0.18 |
| FVC | 89.9±1.8 | 93.9±2.0 | 0.15 |
| FEV1/FVC | 89.5±1.6 | 90.1±1.8 | 0.78 |
Data presented as n (%) unless otherwise indicated.
*
Based on continuity corrected χ2 or Fisher’s exact test for 2×2 categorical data and Student’s t test for continuous data;
†
Prebronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio were both < lower limits of normal (LLN)