Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| Regular OCS use n = 223 | Periodic OCS use n = 3054 | No OCS use n = 12,160 | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 62.3 (15.9) | 49.4 (18.2) | 47.2 (19.0) | < 0.001 |
| Female, n (%) | 127 (57.0) | 2028 (66.4) | 7508 (61.7) | < 0.001 |
| BMI, mean (SD), n | 28.1 (6.0), 146 | 27.5 (6.0), 1629 | 27.3 (5.6), 6432 | 0.081 |
| FEV1% predicteda, mean (SD), n | 66.9 (20.9), 35 | 79.1 (23.8), 365 | 87.4 (20.2), 940 | < 0.001 |
| FVC % predicteda, mean (SD), n | 85.1 (21.9), 26 | 90.2 (19.8), 294 | 95.2 (16.9), 817 | < 0.001 |
| FEV1/FVC, mean, (SD), n | 0.67 (0.14), 27 | 0.72 (0.16), 307 | 0.78 (0.13), 833 | < 0.001 |
| Neutrophils, cells/mm3, mean (SD), n | 6.60 (3.02), 79 | 5.78 (3.06), 481 | 5.09 (2.54), 973 | < 0.001 |
| Eosinophils, ×103 cells/μL, mean (SD), n | 0.49 (0.96), 95 | 0.35 (0.53), 665 | 0.30 (0.41), 1798 | < 0.001 |
| ICS, n (%) | 201 (90.1) | 2680 (87.8) | 9939 (81.7) | < 0.001 |
| LABA, n (%) | 168 (75.3) | 1881 (61.6) | 5701 (46.9) | < 0.001 |
| ICS + LABA, fixed or mono, n (%) | 160 (71.7) | 1833 (60.0) | 5442 (44.8) | < 0.001 |
| Short-acting ß2-agonists, n (%) | 152 (68.2) | 2172 (71.1) | 7742 (63.7) | < 0.001 |
| Leukotriene receptor antagonists, n (%) | 41 (18.4) | 425 (13.9) | 574 (4.7) | < 0.001 |
| Long-acting muscarinic antagonist, n (%) | 29 (13.0) | 214 (7.0) | 374 (3.1) | < 0.001 |
| Anti-IgE treatment, n (%) | 1 (0.4) | 3 (0.1) | 1 (0.0) | 0.010 |
| Bisphosphonates, n (%) | 44 (19.7) | 75 (2.5) | 160 (1.3) | < 0.001 |
| Betablockers, (%) | 65 (29.1) | 412 (13.5) | 1418 (11.7) | < 0.001 |
aPost broncodilator
Fixed = Fixed combination inhalers
Mono = Mono therapy inhalers