Table 1.

Clinical and functional characteristics of study subjects

Parameters	Control (n=217)	AR (n=168)	AR-asthma (n=243)	P-valuea,b
Clinical characteristics
Age, years	37±23	36±22	31±20	0.124,c 0.097,d 0.266e
Male/female ratio	1.1	1.2	0.9	0.096,c 0.107,d 0.234e
BMI, kg/m2	21±4	19±6	20±4	0.112,c 0.227,d 0.077e
AR symptom,f %	0	100	100
Nasal congestion, %	–	75	92	0.028c
Rhinorrhea, %	–	96	78	0.022c
Sneezing and/or nasal itching, %	–	93	74	0.019c
Asthma symptoms,g %	–	–	100	–
Positive skin test,h %	–	86	88	0.324c
Functional characteristics
FVC, %	98±12	95±13	82±22	0.034,c 0.013,d 0.082c
FEV1, %	97±11	93±12	77±23	0.003,c 0.0005,d 0.076e
FEV1/FVC, %	88±12	87±12	86±17	0.236,c 0.114,d 0.238e
Nasal PIF, L/min	134±33	89±37	86±22	0.330,c 0.006,d 0.008e
Nasal PEF, L/min	175±48	134±50	113±33	0.089,c 0.007,d 0.035e
Exhaled NO
Nasal FENO, ppb	582±161	1614±629	1686±614	0.087,c 0.0005,d 0.0006e
Bronchial FENO, ppb	10±4	12±6	35±28	0.0006,c 0.0003,d 0.066e
CANO, ppb	3±1	3±2	6±4	0.015,c 0.017,d 0.088c

Notes:

^aKruskal–Wallis test for pair wise comparison of three groups;

^bMann–Whitney U test for pair wise comparison of two groups;

^cAR-asthma vs AR;

^dAR-asthma vs control;

^eAR vs control;

^fhaving at least one symptom (nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sneezing, and/or nasal itching);

^gas defined by GINA 2015¹⁵;

^hskin prick test positive with at least one allergen.

Abbreviations: AR, allergic rhinitis; BMI, body mass index; CANO, concentration of alveolar nitric oxide; FENO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; FEV₁, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity; GINA, Global Initiative for Asthma; NO, nitric oxide; PEF, peak expiratory flow; PIF, peak inspiratory flow; ppb, parts per billion.