Table 1.
Information on smokers and non-smokers with normal lung function, included in the study
| Non-Smokers | Smokers | p-value f | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n) | 8 | 14 | |
| Males/Females (n) | 3/5 | 3/11 | |
| Age | 25 (20–34) | 25 (19–50) | ns |
| Smoke status | |||
| Pack Years a | na | 6 (1.8–24.5) | |
| Cigarettes/day b | na | 10 (7–30) | |
| Spirometry | |||
| FVC c | 102 (86–120) | 108 (85–127) | ns |
| FEV d | 101 (89–113) | 104 (80–121) | ns |
| FEV1/FVC | 83 (81–88) | 78 (76–88) | ns |
| BAL | |||
| Recovery % | 74 (64–80) | 69 (50–77) | ns |
| Total cell count (10^6) | 18.1 (10.1–24.4) | 39.8 (15.9–154) | *** |
| Cell conc. (10^6 cells /L) | 94.0 (68.0–154.5) | 257.8 (90.3–987.2) | ** |
| Macrophages % | 87.4 (66.6–96.0) | 96.5 (92.0–99.0) | *** |
| Macrophages (10^6 cells /L) | 79.2 (60.5–101.6) | 250.5 (83.1–949.7) | *** |
| Lymphocytes % | 10.5 (3.4–31.6) | 1.9 (0.40–7.20) | *** |
| Lymphocytes (10^6 cells /L) | 8.75 (3.58–48.2) | 6.40 (1.03–29.62) | ns |
| Neutrophils % | 1.30 (0.20–6.40) | 0.60 (0.20–2.40) | ns |
| Neutrophils (10^6 cells /L) | 1.06 (0.14–5.98) | 1.49 (0.34–8.95) | ns |
| Mastcells e | 2.00 (0.00–10.0) | 1.00 (0.00–6.00) | ns |
Numbers indicate median and range, if not otherwise indicated. Eosinophils and basophils were also counted and constituted ≤1.4% and ≤ 0.2%, respectively, of BAL cells in any subject, with no difference between smokers and non-smokers. a Pack years calculated as ([cigarettes smoked per day]/20 x [years smoking]). b Current smoking habits at time of bronchoscopy. c FVC: forced vital capacity, % of predicted. d FEV1: Forced expiratory volume in 1 s, % of predicted, e Calculated in 10 fields of view at 16× magnification. f Statistics calculated using Mann Whitney non-parametric test: ** < 0.01, *** < 0.001, ns: Not significant, na: Not applicable