Table. Demographic data of the study subjects.
| Variables | Healthy controls (n = 26) | Asthmatic patients (n = 52) | P value | NSA (n = 41) | SA (n = 11) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yr) | 40.1 ± 9.8 | 46.1 ± 14.5 | 0.061 | 44.4 ± 14.9 | 52.4 ± 11.5 | 0.108 |
| Female sex (%) | 26.9 | 61.5 | 0.086 | 61.0 | 63.6 | 0.872 |
| Atopy (%) | 35.0 | 48.1 | 0.073 | 51.2 | 36.4 | 0.381 |
| Ex-smoker (%) | 25.5 | 38.5 | 0.240 | 18.2 | 27.5 | 0.530 |
| Baseline FEV1 (%) | ND | 80.6 ± 23.2 | ND | 84.3 ± 20.0 | 66.4 ± 29.6 | 0.021 |
| PC20 (mg/mL) | ND | 1.6 ± 2.0 | ND | 1.8 ± 2.1 | 1.0 ± 0.7 | 0.398 |
| Total IgE (kU/L) | 115.3 ± 184.6 | 275.6 ± 308.4 | 0.027 | 181.7 ± 147.0 | 300.7 ± 335.9 | 0.260 |
| TEC (cells/μL) | ND | 323.4 ± 273.0 | ND | 304.9 ± 254.1 | 391.7 ± 339.5 | 0.443 |
| Sputum Eos (%) | ND | 26.1 ± 31.4 | ND | 24.3 ± 31.9 | 31.7 ± 30.6 | 0.525 |
P values were obtained by Pearson’s χ2 test for categorical variables and by Student’s t-test for continuous variables.
NSA, nonsevere asthma; SA, severe asthma; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; methacholine PC20, the provocative concentration of methacholine required to cause a 20% fall in FEV1; IgE, immunoglobulin E; TEC, total eosinophil count; Eos, eosinophil; ND, no data.