Study participants baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | All (n=1671) | By country | ||
| Uganda (n=821) | Kenya (n=431) | Ethiopia (n=419) | ||
| Gender: male, n (%) | 490 (29.3) | 206 (25.1) | 109 (25.3) | 175 (41.8) |
| Median age (IQR) | 40 (26–52) | 31 (20–44) | 42 (32–51) | 52 (42–60) |
| Median age at asthma diagnosis (IQR) | 25 (14–36) | 20 (10–33) | 28.5 (16–39) | 29 (22–36) |
| Adult onset asthma (≥19 years) | 1050 (62.8) | 421 (51.3) | 283 (65.66) | 346 (82.6) |
| Family history of asthma, n (%) | 869 (52.0) | 491 (59.8) | 229 (53.1) | 149 (35.6) |
| Smoking (current/former), n (%) | 113 (6.8) | 39 (4.8) | 38 (8.8) | 36 (8.6) |
| Secondhand smoke exposure, n (%) | 141 (8.4) | 51 (6.2) | 67 (15.6) | 23 (5.5) |
| Biomass exposure, n (%) | 1221 (73.1) | 643 (78.3) | 274 (63.6) | 304 (72.6) |
| Cough, n (%) | 736 (44.1) | 360 (43.9) | 187 (43.4) | 189 (45.1) |
| Wheeze, n (%) | 664 (39.7) | 319 (38.9) | 187 (43.4) | 158 (37.7) |
| Median BMI kg/m2 (IQR) | 24.2 (20.9–28.5) | 23.7 (20.4–28.4) | 26.1 (22.1–30.7) | 23.8 (21.1–26.8) |
| Pre-BD FVC%, median (IQR) | 94 (76–109) | 101 (84–115) | 89 (74–101) | 2.3 (1.7–2.9) |
| Pre-BD FEV1%, median (IQR) | 76 (53–95) | 87 (65–103) | 76 (58–90) | 53 (40–69) |
| Pre-BD FEV1/FVC ratio, median (IQR) | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | 0.8 (0.7–0.8) | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | 0.5 (0.4–0.6) |
| Bronchodilator reversibility, median (IQR) | 19 (12–30.8) n=1077 | 20.5 (15.0–31.6) n=268 | 9 (4–19) n=408 | 24.9 (17.3–41.9) n=401 |
| Ova/cysts | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Uncontrolled asthma (ACQ >1.5) | 957 (57.3) | 427 (52.0) | 223 (51.7) | 307 (73.3) |
| Number of exacerbations in past year, median (IQR) | 3 (1–10) | 4 (2–10) | 3 (0–10) | 2 (0–8) |
| Number of courses of oral steroids prescribed | 1 (0–4) | 1 (0–4) | 0 (0–2) | 1 (0–5) |
| Three or more exacerbations in the past year, n (%) | 984 (59.1) | 566 (68.9) | 223 (52.0) | 195 (47.0) |
| Any hospitalisation in past year, n (%) | 358 (21.4) | 204 (24.9) | 51 (11.9) | 103 (24.6) |
| On any ICS | 230 (14.0) | 65 (17.3) | 89 (12.7) | 76 (13.3) |
| Not on any asthma medication | 206 (12.5) | 73 (19.5) | 87 (12.6) | 46 (8.1) |
ACQ, asthma control questionnaire; BMI, body mass index; FEV, forced expiratory volume; FVC, forced vital capacity; ICS, inhaled corticosteroids; pre-BD, pre-bronchodilator.