Table 3.
Participant Physical Characteristics, Baseline Spirometry and Mediators.
| Asthmatics | Non-Asthmatics | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender (male/female) | 4/6 | 7/6 |
| Age (years) | 27.5 ± 1.9 | 26.5 ± 1.5 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 21.6 ± 0.9 | 22.9 ± 0.7 |
| Skin prick (# positive) | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| PC20 (mg/ml) | 2.2 | > 8 |
| FEV1 (%pred) | 90.4 ± 2.5 | 99.3 ± 3.4 |
| FVC (%pred) | 96.7 ± 2.6 | 98.2 ± 2.9 |
| FEV1/FVC (%)† | 78.9 ± 2.2 | 84.9 ± 1.5 |
| Blood TNF-α (pg/ml) | 0.10 ± 0.02 | 0.16 ± 0.04 |
| IL-6 (pg/ml) | 0.42 ± 0.06 | 0.66 ± 0.17 |
Values reported as means ± SEs.
Skin prick test is # allergens with wheal diameter ≥ 3 mm.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; PC20, see Table 2; FEV1, forced expiratory 1-sec volume; FVC, forced vital capacity; %pred, percent of predicted normal values (according to Hankinson et al. 1999).
†
Unpaired t-test, p=0.03, asthmatics versus non-asthmatics.