Table 2. Clinical, functional and biochemical parameters of healthy subjects and COPD patients.
| Characteristics | Controls (n = 43) | Mild COPD (n = 29) | Moderate COPD (n = 14) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 73.4±6.9 | 75.4±4.8 | 73.4±7.7 | NS |
| Sex (F/M) | 9/34 | 7/22 | 2/12 | NS |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.4±3.6 | 27.4±3.4 | 27.4±4.5 | NS |
| Current smokers | 3 (7%) | 2 (6.9%) | 1 (7.1%) | NS |
| Never smoked | 14 (32.6%) | 8 (27.6%) | 2 (14.2%) | NS |
| Ex smokers | 26 (60.4%) | 19 (65.5%) | 11 (78.6%) | NS |
| FEV1 (L) | 2.75±0.59 | 2.24±0.56*** | 1.56 ± 0.32***°°° | <0.001 |
| FVC (L) | 3.40±0.73 | 3.18±0.77 | 2.44±0.54***°° | <0.001 |
| FEV1/FVC | 80.8±4.9 | 70.2±3.1*** | 64.8±7.9***°° | <0.001 |
| TBARS (μmol/L) | 2.93 (2.46–3.23) | 3.18 (2.50–3.54) | 3.64 (3.16–4.38)**° | 0.003 |
| PSH (μmol/ g prot) | 6.69±1.15 | 6.04±0.85 | 5.33±0.96***° | <0.001 |
| PON1(U/L) | 253 (147–340) | 230 (154–376) | 211(157–284) | NS |
| Taurine (μmol/L) | 55.8 (47.7–72.1) | 59.3 (49.0–76.8) | 57.6 (50.8–75.3) | NS |
| Arginine (μmol/L) | 79.8 (68.3–90.4) | 70.4 (60.3–78.2)* | 53.4 (41.4–59.8)***°° | <0.001 |
| ADMA (μmol/L) | 0.488 (0.454–0.544) | 0.505 (0.432–0.588) | 0.513 (0.412–0.625) | NS |
| SDMA (μmol/L) | 0.460 (0.395–0.590) | 0.513 (0.429–0.594) | 0.485 (0.456–0.577) | NS |
| ADMA/arginine | 0.0067 (0.0056–0.0077) | 0.0075 (0.0053–0.0098) | 0.0100 (0.0079–0.0117)***°° | <0.001 |
| ADMA/SDMA | 1.07 (0.80–1.28) | 0.98 (0.81–1.31) | 1.12 (0.86–1.25) | NS |
*P<0.05
**p<0.01
***p<0.001 vs Controls;
°P<0.05
°°p<0.01
°°°p<0.001 vs mild COPD obtained by ANOVA (Student-Newman-Keuls test for all pairwise comparisons or Krustall-Wallis test as appropriate)