Table 1.
Clinical parameters of recruited subjects
| FEV1 >80% predicted* | ||||
| BHR negative | BHR positive | BHR positive | ||
| (PC20 >16 mg/ml; group 1) | (PC20 8–16 mg/ml; group 2) | (PC20 0.03–8 mg/ml; group3) | FEV1≤80% predicted* (group 4)† | |
| Parameters | ||||
| n (%) | 58 (33.9) | 15 (8.8) | 51 (29.8) | 47 (27.5) |
| Mean age ± SD (years) | 37.0 ± 11.9 | 29.3 ± 6.8 | 33.0 ± 11.1 | 41.4 ± 11.0 |
| Males (n [%]) | 18 (31.0) | 4 (26.7) | 13 (25.5) | 16 (34.0) |
| Females (n [%]) | 40 (69.0) | 11 (73.3) | 38 (74.5) | 31 (66.0) |
| Skin test negative (n [%]) | 32 (55.2) | 7 (46.7) | 12 (23.5) | 7 (14.9) |
| Skin test positive (n [%]) | 26 (44.8) | 8 (53.3) | 39 (79.5) | 40 (85.1) |
| IgE ≤100 IU/ml* (n [%]) | 38 (71.7) | 10 (83.3) | 21 (46.7) | 16 (40.0) |
| IgE >100 IU/ml* (n [%]) | 15 (28.3) | 2 (16.9) | 24 (53.3) | 24 (60.0) |
*In some patients we were unable to obtain a complete data set. Some individuals were unwilling to undertake a metacholine challenge test, whereas others did not wish to donate a blood sample (in this case DNA was isolated from a mouthwash sample). † Mean FEV1 = 67% predicted (min = 45%, max = 78%).