Characteristics of the study population
| Clinical characteristics | n=275 |
|---|---|
| Age at diagnosis, years | 61.9±11.6 |
| Gender (female) | 205 (74.5) |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 19.4±2.8 |
| Smoking status (never) | 219 (79.6) |
| Chronic microorganism co-infection | 124 (45.1) |
| Intermittent microorganism co-infection | 41 (14.9) |
| Number of sputum samples, numbers/year | |
| All patients | 4.43±2.4 |
| Patients with chronic co-infection | 4.51±2.4 |
| Patients with intermittent co-infection | 4.54±2.3 |
| Underlying disease | |
| Bronchiectasis | 234 (85.1) |
| Severe pneumonia (hospitalisation) | 81 (29.6) |
| COPD | 28 (10.2) |
| Asthma | 24 (8.7) |
| History of tuberculosis | 34 (12.4) |
| History of malignant disease | 57 (20.7) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 26 (9.5) |
| Autoimmune disease | 36 (13.1) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 19 (6.9) |
| GORD symptom | 44 (16.1) |
| Use of systemic corticosteroids | 22 (8.0) |
| Use of immunosuppressant agent | 24 (8.7) |
| Use of inhaled corticosteroids | 19 (6.9) |
| Infected MAC strain (Mycobacterium avium) | 208 (75.6) |
| Duration of MAC disease, years | 7.2±7.0 |
Data show either the number (%) of patients or the mean±SD.
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; GORD, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; MAC, M. avium complex.