Table 1.
Characteristics of the enrolled patients in the treated (specific extract of duck liver and heart) and untreated groups
| Total | Study groups | p between groups | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treated | Untreated | |||
| (n = 459) | (n = 248) | (n = 211) | ||
| Province of residence: | 0.553b | |||
| - Cremona | 261 (56.9 %) | 140 (56.5 %) | 121 (57.2 %) | |
| - Bergamo | 91 (19.8 %) | 48 (19.4 %) | 43 (20.4 %) | |
| - Milan | 86 (18.7 %) | 51 (20.6 %) | 35 (16.6 %) | |
| - Others | 21 (4.6 %) | 9 (3.6 %) | 12 (5.7 %) | |
| Gender: | 0.574c | |||
| - Male | 221 (48.1 %) | 116 (46.8 %) | 105 (49.8 %) | |
| - Female | 238 (51.9 %) | 132 (53.2 %) | 106 (50.2 %) | |
| Age classes: | 0.032b | |||
| - 1-2 years | 29 (6.3 %) | 19 (7.7 %) | 10 (4.7 %) | |
| - 3-5 years | 74 (16.1 %) | 48 (19.4 %) | 26 (12.3 %) | |
| - 6-17 years | 90 (19.6 %) | 54 (21.8 %) | 36 (17.1 %) | |
| - 18-64 years | 201 (43.8 %) | 96 (38.7 %) | 105 (49.8 %) | |
| - 65 or more years | 65 (14.2 %) | 31 (12.5 %) | 34 (16.1 %) | |
| Smoking habits: | 0.703b | |||
| - No smokers | 282 (61.4 %) | 155 (62.5 %) | 127 (60.2 %) | |
| - Passive smokers | 42 (9.2 %) | 25 (10.1 %) | 17 (8.1 %) | |
| - Former smokers | 62 (13.5 %) | 32 (12.9 %) | 30 (14.2 %) | |
| - Current smokers | 73 (15.9 %) | 36 (14.5 %) | 37 (17.5 %) | |
| No. of concomitant respiratory diseases: | 0.168d | |||
| - None | 171 (37.3 %) | 86 (34.7 %) | 85 (40.3 %) | |
| - 1 disease | 184 (40.1 %) | 101 (40.7 %) | 83 (39.3 %) | |
| - 2 diseases | 104 (22.7 %) | 61 (24.6 %) | 43 (20.4 %) | |
| Concomitant respiratory diseases: | ||||
| - COPDa | 63 (13.7 %) | 33 (13.3 %) | 30 (14.2 %) | 0.787c |
| - Respiratory allergy | 195 (42.5 %) | 109 (44.0 %) | 86 (40.8 %) | 0.508c |
| - Asthma | 105 (22.9 %) | 55 (22.2 %) | 50 (23.7 %) | 0.739c |
| - Other respiratory diseases | 29 (6.3 %) | 26 (10.5 %) | 3 (1.4 %) | <0.001c |
a COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
b Pearson chi-square test
c Fisher’s exact test
d Linear-by-linear chi-square test