Characteristics of patients with controlled asthma at 12 years after diagnosis according to their level of 12-year adherence (n=56)
| Good adherence (≥80%) | Poor adherence (<80%) | p-value | |
| Patients | 21 | 35 | |
| Age years | 58±11 | 54±16 | 0.266ƒ |
| Female | 16 (76.2) | 25 (71.4) | 0.764## |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 26.3 (3.4) | 28.3 (3.8) | 0.045ƒ |
| Smokers (including ex-smokers) | 5 (23.8) | 13 (37.1) | 0.382## |
| Smoking history pack-years | 10 (3.7–14.8) | 5.3 (1.3–9.3) | 0.383¶¶ |
| Pre-BD FEV1 % pred | 91 (86–100) | 92 (86–98) | 0.939¶¶ |
| Pre-BD FEV1/FVC | 0.74 (0.68–0.80) | 0.75 (0.71–0.79) | 0.460¶¶ |
| Post-BD FEV1% pred | 96 (90–100) | 96 (91–102) | 0.826¶¶ |
| Post-BD FEV1/FVC | 0.75 (0.71–0.82) | 0.78 (0.73–0.83) | 0.285¶¶ |
| Blood eosinophils ×109·L−1 | 0.25 (0.13–0.37) | 0.15 (0.11–0.26) | 0.095¶¶ |
| Total IgE kU·L−1 | 93 (39–214) | 43 (23–95) | 0.022¶¶ |
| Blood neutrophils ×109·L−1 | 3.9 (3.6–5.5) | 3.6 (2.6–3.9) | 0.016¶¶ |
| Prescribed daily dose of ICS µg BDP | 620 (488–1017) | 800 (541–925) | 0.565¶¶ |
| Dispensed daily dose of ICS µg BDP | 628 (476–983) | 301 (90–402) | <0.001¶¶ |
| Daily SABA# | 0 (0) | 2 (5.7) | 0.523## |
| Daily LABA# | 8 (38.1) | 10 (28.6) | 0.558## |
| Daily LTRA# | 2 (9.5) | 2 (5.7) | 0.626## |
| Self-reported use of oral corticosteroid courses for asthma¶ | 8 (38.1) | 4 (11.4) | 0.040## |
| Dispensed oral corticosteroid for asthma per year mg+ | 48 (6–203) | 0 (0–99) | 0.060¶¶ |
| Co-medications (nonrespiratory) | 0 (0–4) | 1 (0–4) | 0.472¶¶ |
| AQ20 score | 2 (0–3.5) | 2 (1–4) | 0.724¶¶ |
| ACT score | 24 (22–25) | 24 (22–25) | 0.593¶¶ |
| Allergy and/or rhinitis | 14 (66.7) | 24 (68.6) | >0.999## |
| Asthma-related visits to healthcare¶,§ | 17 (8–27) | 9 (6–17) | 0.062¶¶ |
Data are presented as n, mean±sd, n (%) or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. BMI: body mass index; BD: bronchodilator; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; IgE: immunoglobulin E; ICS: inhaled corticosteroid; BDP: beclomethasone dipropionate equivalents; SABA: short-acting β2-agonist; LABA: long-acting β2-agonist; LTRA: leukotriene receptor antagonist; AQ20: Airways Questionnaire 20; ACT: Asthma Control Test. #: self-reported daily use; ¶: examined during the whole 12-year follow-up period; +: dispensed doses of oral corticosteroids (mg) were obtained from the Finnish Social Insurance Institution and were divided by the years of follow-up; §: all respiratory-related scheduled and unscheduled contacts with healthcare due to asthma; ƒ: independent samples t-test; ##: Fisher's exact test; ¶¶: independent samples Mann–Whitney U-test.