Characteristics of asthma patients at 12 years after diagnosis according to their level of asthma control (n=181)#
| Controlled | Not-controlled | p-value | |
| Patients | 56 | 125 | |
| Age years | 56±14.6 | 61±12.4 | 0.011++ |
| Female | 41 (73.2) | 67 (53.6) | 0.014§§ |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 27.6±3.8 | 29.1±6.0 | 0.079++ |
| Smokers (including ex-smokers) | 18 (32.1) | 73 (58.4) | 0.001§§ |
| Smoking history pack-years | 7 (2–12) | 20 (10–32) | <0.001ƒƒ |
| ≥10 pack-years and post-BD FEV1/FVC <0.7¶ | 4 (7.1) | 29 (23.4) | 0.011§§ |
| Pre-BD FEV1% pred | 92 (86–99) | 82 (70–93) | <0.001ƒƒ |
| Pre-BD FEV1/FVC | 0.75 (0.70–0.79) | 0.73 (0.64–0.78) | 0.016ƒƒ |
| Post-BD FEV1% pred | 96 (90–101) | 84 (75–96) | <0.001ƒƒ |
| Post-BD FEV1/FVC | 0.77 (0.73–0.83) | 0.73 (0.65–0.79) | 0.002ƒƒ |
| Blood eosinophils ×109·L−1 | 0.17 (0.12–0.28) | 0.18 (0.09–0.27) | 0.353ƒƒ |
| Total IgE kU·L−1 | 51 (28–161) | 71 (24–172) | 0.617ƒƒ |
| FeNO ppb | 12 (6–19) | 10 (5–18) | 0.392ƒƒ |
| Blood neutrophils ×109·L−1 | 3.7 (3.0–4.6) | 3.9 (2.9–4.9) | 0.522ƒƒ |
| Prescribed daily dose of ICS µg BDP | 751 (502–939) | 838 (664–1023) | 0.014ƒƒ |
| Dispensed daily dose of ICS µg BDP | 411 (246–625) | 602 (354–838) | 0.002ƒƒ |
| Daily SABA+ | 2 (3.6)### | 19 (15.2) | 0.024§§ |
| Daily LABA+ | 18 (32.1) | 77 (61.6) | <0.001§§ |
| Self-reported use of oral corticosteroid courses for asthma§ | 12 (21.4) | 48 (39.0) | 0.06§§ |
| Dispensed oral corticosteroid for asthma per year mgƒ | 44 (0–127) | 92 (0–240) | 0.013ƒƒ |
| Comorbidities | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–3) | 0.057ƒƒ |
| Co-medications (nonrespiratory) | 1 (0–4) | 2 (0–4) | 0.124ƒƒ |
| AQ20 score | 2 (0–4) | 6 (3–9) | <0.001ƒƒ |
| ACT score | 24 (22–25) | 20 (17–23) | <0.001ƒƒ |
| Asthma-related visits to healthcare§,## | 12 (6–19) | 16 (10–26) | 0.014ƒƒ |
| Atopy¶¶ | 27 (50.9) | 34 (30.6) | 0.016§§ |
| ≥1 hospital in-patient periods, asthma-related (unplanned)§ | 1 (1.8) | 15 (12.0) | 0.024§§ |
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; FeNO: exhaled nitric oxide fraction; ICS: inhaled corticosteroid; BDP: beclomethasone dipropionate equivalents; SABA: short-acting β2-agonist; LABA: long-acting β2-agonist; AQ20: Airways Questionnaire 20; ACT: Asthma Control Test. #: the results of lung function and inflammatory parameters have been published previously in patients with controlled, partially controlled and uncontrolled asthma [3]; ¶: baseline ≥10 pack-years and post-BD FEV1/FVC ratio <0.7 in patients with controlled asthma (n=2, 3.6%) and patients with not-controlled asthma (n=13, 10.7%) (p=0.150); +: self-reported daily use; §: examined during the whole 12-year follow-up period; ƒ: values 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; ¶¶: defined as ≥1 positive response (≥3 mm) in skin prick test towards common aeroallergens [31]; ++: independent samples t-test; §§: Fisher's exact test; ƒƒ: independent samples Mann–Whitney U-test; ###: these two patients were not dispensed SABA in the year when asthma control was determined and therefore they were considered to belong to the group of controlled patients. However, they self-reported daily use of SABA and more SABA was dispensed in preceding years of the follow-up.