Table 1.
Subject characteristics. Data are shown as mean ± SD, %, or median (IQR)
| Uncontrolled asthma (n = 27) | Controlled asthma (n = 32) | Non-asthmatics (n = 30) |
P-value (ANOVA / Kruskal-Wallis / Chi-square) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y) | 8.2 ± 2.8 | 9.5 ± 2.6 | 9.3 ± 2.9 | 0.19 * |
| Gender (% male) | 77% | 84% | 53% a | 0.02 + |
| Weight (kg) | 31.4 ± 10.6 | 37.9 ± 14.2 | 32.9 ± 11.5 | 0.11 * |
| Length (cm) | 133 ± 17 | 140 ± 17 | 138 ± 18 | 0.30 * |
| BMI z-score | 0.43 ± 0.94 | 0.85 ± 1.17 | −0.02 ± 1.13 a | < 0.01 * |
| ICS use (%) | 70% | 66% | 0% c,d | < 0.01 + |
| LABA use (%) | 11.1% | 6.7% | 0% c,d | 0.19 + |
| Inhalation allergy (%) | 90% | 61% b | 13% c,d | < 0.01 + |
| Baseline FEV1 (% pred) | 90.6% ± 12.7% | 92.9% ± 9.8% | 95.7% ± 9.7% | 0.21 * |
| Fall in FEV1 at ECT (%) | 27.9% (17.3–32.8%) | 6.0% (3.8–9.8%) d | 3.1% (0.6–5.1%) d | < 0.01 ^ |
| C-ACT scores | 22.0 (17–25) | 22.5 (20–25.5) | 27.0 (27–27) c,d | < 0.01 ^ |
Abbreviations: BMI Body mass index, ICS Inhaled corticosteroids, LABA Long acting beta-antagonists, FEV1 Forced expiratory volume in 1 s, ECT Exercise challenge test, C-ACT Childhood asthma control test
aP ≤ 0.05 compared to controlled asthma
bP ≤ 0.05 compared to uncontrolled asthma
cP < 0.01 compared to controlled asthma
dP < 0.01 compared to uncontrolled asthma
*Normally distributed (ANOVA)
^ Not normally distributed and/or inhomogeneity of variances (Kruskal-Wallis)
+ Binary variables > Chi-square