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. 2018 May-Jun;44(3):207–212. doi: 10.1590/S1806-37562017000000034

Table 1. Sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the subjects included in the study, by body mass index group.a .

Variable BMI group p*
Underweight Normal weight Overweight Obese
(n = 20) (n = 286) (n = 319) (n = 299)
Female gender 17 (85) 203 (71) 245 (77) 266 (89) < 0.01
Age, years 34 ± 19 40 ± 16 47 ± 14 47 ± 13 < 0.01
Low level of educationb 3 (15) 26 (9) 47 (15) 54 (18) 0.02
Late-onset asthma (≥ 18 years) 4 (20) 90 (31) 120 (38) 92 (31) 0.14
Comorbiditiesc 2 (10) 61 (21) 130 (41) 171 (57) < 0.01
Diagnosis of rhinitis 18 (90) 258 (91) 300 (94) 277 (93) 0.42
Positive skin-prick test result 10 (50) 191 (67) 199 (62) 163 (55) 0.03
Diagnosis of GERD 8 (40) 101 (35) 141 (44) 149 (66) 0.38
Severe depressiond 0 (0) 10 (4) 21 (7) 26 (9) < 0.01
High dose of asthma medicatione 4 (20) 102 (36) 158 (50) 173 (58) < 0.01
Total serum IgE, IU/mL 237 (39-642) 291 (115-542) 261 (100-451) 269 (105-530) 0.64
Eosinophils ≥ 260 cells/µL 15 (75) 141 (49) 141 (44) 134 (45) 0.02
Eosinophils, cells/µL 433 (251-579) 258 (137-401) 232 (130-378) 240 (139-383) 0.01
Neutrophils, cells/µL 2,641 (1,922-4,938) 3,399 (2,470-4,338) 3,431 (2,394-4,533) 3,711 (2,765-4,942) 0.01

BMI: body mass index; and GERD: gastroesophageal reflux disease. aValues expressed as n (%), as mean ± SD, or as median (interquartile range). bLow level of education: being illiterate or having had fewer than 5 years of schooling. cComorbidities: hypertension, diabetes, and/or dyslipidemia. dSevere depression: severe level of depression as assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory. eHigh dose of medication: based on use of inhaled corticosteroids. *Chi-square test for categorical variables and Kruskal-Wallis test for continuous variables.