Characteristics of subjects
| Subjects with asthma (n=24) | Healthy non-asthmatic (n=8) | |
| Age | 41 (18–69) | 42 (19–68) |
| Gender (male) | 54% (n=13) | 50% (n=4) |
| Caucasian | 67% (n=16) | 100% (n=8) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 29.5 (18.9–47.5 (8.1)) | 26 (5.9) |
| FEV1/FVC | 0.71 (0.49–0.89 (0.1)) | 0.81 (0.73–0.91 (0.1)) |
| FEV1 (L)* | 2.9 (1.4–4.8 (0.8)) | 3.6 (2.5–4.8 (0.7)) |
| FEV1 %predicted | 87.6 (52–136 (21.6)) | 110.5 (85–133 (19.8)) |
| PC20 (mg/mL) | 1.5 (0.1–8.1 (2.2)) | >16 |
| Bronchodilator reversibility, % | 12.0 (−4 to 68 (15.2)) | 3 (−1 to 8 (2.8)) |
| Age at asthma onset | 16.7 | – |
| ACQ-7 score (visit 1, visit 2) | 0.9, 0.9 | – |
| ACT score | 21, 21 | – |
| ICS use | 58% (n=14) | – |
| Low-dose ICS, medium-dose ICS | 40% (n=10), 16% (n=4) | – |
| Number of positive specific IgE to respiratory allergens | 3 (0–10) | 1 (0–2) |
| Serum total IgE (IU/mL) | 308 (6–3971 (780)) | 87 (2–335 (112)) |
| Blood absolute eosinophils (K/µL)* | 0.230 (0–0.6 (0.2)) | 0.120 (0–0.3 (0.1)) |
| Sputum squamous epithelial, % | 49.8 (9.2–79 (24)) | 60.5 (54.8–68.4 (5.9)) |
| Sputum eosinophil, % (median) | 0.2 (0–63 (14.7)) | 0 (0–1.3 (0.6)) |
| Sputum neutrophil, % | 55.6 (13.7–92.5 (27)) | 60.6 (41.5–86.3 (21.7)) |
| Sputum macrophages, % | 32.9 (2.8–79.8 (20.8)) | 28.1 (11.2–46.1 (16.1)) |
Data are mean (range, (SD)) unless otherwise indicated.
*P<0.05 (Wilcoxon rank-sum test).
ACQ-7, Asthma Control Questionnaire-7; ACT, Asthma Control Test; BMI, body- mass index (kg/m2); FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; ICS, inhaled corticosteroidsec; PC20, provocative concentration resulting in 20% decline in FEV1.