Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of Smokers and COPD groups, stratified by gender
| Male | Female | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoker (n = 11) | COPD (n = 10) | p-value | Smoker (n = 14) | COPD (n = 8) | p-value | |
| GOLD (I/II) | n.a. | 4/6 | n.a. | n.a. | 5/3b | n.a. |
| GOLD (A/B) | n.a. | 8/2 | n.a. | n.a. | 7/1b | n.a. |
| Age | 55.2 ± 6.0 | 56.9 ± 6.3 | NS | 57.1 ± 5.5 | 58.4 ± 3.9 | NS |
| BAL macrophages [%] | 95.7 ± 2.4 | 97.0 ± 1.4 | NS | 96.4 ± 2.5 | 95.1 ± 2.8 | NS |
| BAL lymphocytes [%]a | 2.3 (1.2, 5.4) | 1.4 (0.2, 5.6) | NS | 1.7 (1, 7.2) | 3.3 (1, 8.6) | NS |
| BAL neutrophils [%]a | 0.8 (0.2, 3.6) | 0.8 (0, 1.6) | NS | 0.5 (0, 2.8) | 0.5 (0.2, 1.4) | NS |
| BAL eosinophils [%]a | 0.0 (0, 1.4) | 0.3 (0, 1.2) | NS | 0.1 (0, 1.2) | 0.2 (0, 0.6) | NS |
| BAL basophils [%]a | 0.0 (0, 0.4) | 0.0 (0, 0) | NS | 0.0 (0, 0.2) | 0.0 (0, 0.2) | NS |
| BAL mast cells/10 vis fieldsa | 3(0.8) | 3(0.6) | NS | 3(0.13) | 1.5(0.20) | NS |
| BMI | 25.4 ± 2.8 | 25.1 ± 3.9 | NS | 24.8 ± 2.6 | 24.7 ± 4.2 | NS |
| Packs/years | 41.4 ± 18.8 | 42.3 ± 10.1 | NS | 37.6 ± 11.4 | 37.3 ± 9.4 | NS |
| Cigarettes/day in last 6 months | 19.4 ± 7.8 | 18.4 ± 5.2 | NS | 15.6 ± 5.8 | 14.9 ± 7.9 | NS |
| FEV1 (% predicted) | 104 ± 12.1 | 76.0 ± 8.0 | < 0.01 | 107 ± 14.12c | 81.5 ± 14b | < 0.01 |
| FEV1/FVC (% predicted) | 77.3 ± 5.0 | 61.8 ± 6.6 | < 0.01 | 77.4 ± 5.3c | 58.8 ± 6.6b | < 0.01 |
Data are presented as mean ± SD tested by using t-test; or a, median (minimum, maximum) for skewed data, tested by Mann-Whitney U test; n.a., not applicable; NS, not significant (p > 0.05); b, no significant difference between male and female COPD patients (p > 0.30); c, no significant difference between male and female smokers (p > 0.70)