Table 1.

Clinical characteristics of patients at baseline.

Variable			SMSa group (n=57)		Control group (n=95)		P value
Gender, male, n (%)			15 (26)		40 (42)		.05
Age in years, mean (SD)			50.4 (16.4)		48 (16.9)		.40
Education level, n (%)
	Primary/secondary studies	47 (82)		61 (64)		.40
	University degree	7 (12)		20 (21)		.40
Working status, n (%)
	Unemployed	6 (11)		10 (11)		.79
	Employed	34 (60)		54 (57)		.79
	Housewife	4 (7)		11 (12)		.79
	Retired	13 (23)		18 (19)		.79
Smoking history, n (%)
	Current smoker	4 (7)		6 (6)		.75
	Ex-smoker	17 (30)		34 (36)		.75
	Never smoker	36 (63)		55 (58)		.75
Self-management education program, n (%)			10 (18)		16 (17)		.91
Asthma history, mean (SD)
	Years from diagnosis	16.6 (11.6)		16.5 (14.3)		.98
	Years from starting treatment	13.3 (10.3)		13.2 (12.1)		.10
	Years from follow-up in outpatient clinics	7.2 (7)		6.8 (7.8)		.78
Inhaler type, n (%)
	Accuhaler/Diskus	18 (32)		38 (40)		.57
	Turbuhaler	26 (46)		37 (39)		.57
	pMDIb	13 (23)		20 (21)		.57
Inhalation technique, correct steps, n (%)
	Acceptable	40 (70)		75 (79)		.22
	Unacceptable	17 (30)		20 (21)		.22
Asthma-related events in the previous 12 months, mean (SD)
	Exacerbations	0.6 (1.2)		0.4 (0.8)		.21
	Emergency department visits	0.2 (0.6)		0.2 (0.7)		.79
	Hospital admission	0.05 (0.2)		0.04 (0.2)		.76
Asthma Control Test, mean (SD)			20.3 (4.2)		20.0 (4.8)		.69
FeNOc level, ppb, mean (SD)			42.2 (37.5)		33.7 (34.3)		.18
FEV1d before bronchodilation test, % predicted, mean (SD)			79.0 (17.5)		79.5 (18.4)		.92
FEV1 after bronchodilation test, % predicted, mean (SD)			79.6 (16.7)		85.3 (15.7)		.16

^aSMS: short message service.

^bpMDI: pressurized metered-dose inhaler.

^cFeNO: exhaled nitric oxide.

^dFEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second.