Characteristics of patients with not-controlled asthma at 12 years after diagnosis according to their level of 12-year adherence (n=125)
| Good adherence (≥80%) | Poor adherence (<80%) | p-value | |
| Patients | 61 | 64 | |
| Age years | 62±12 | 60±13 | 0.242ƒ |
| Female | 36 (59.0) | 31 (48.4) | 0.283## |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 28.4 (24.6–32.5) | 28.5 (24.5–32.3) | 0.286¶¶ |
| Smokers (including ex-smokers) | 35 (57.4) | 38 (59.4) | 0.857## |
| Smoking history pack-years | 19 (9–34) | 20 (12–30) | 0.977¶¶ |
| Pre-BD FEV1 % pred | 84 (71–99) | 80 (70–90) | 0.200¶¶ |
| Pre-BD FEV1/FVC | 0.73 (0.65–0.78) | 0.72 (0.63–0.78) | 0.797¶¶ |
| Post-BD FEV1% pred | 84 (75–99) | 84 (75–92) | 0.386¶¶ |
| Post-BD FEV1/FVC | 0.73 (0.66–0.79) | 0.73 (0.65–0.80) | 0.888¶¶ |
| Blood eosinophils ×109·L−1 | 0.15 (0.08–0.25) | 0.19 (0.10–0.29) | 0.118¶¶ |
| Total IgE kU·L−1 | 61 (23–138) | 79 (29–197) | 0.140¶¶ |
| Blood neutrophils ×109·L−1 | 4.2 (3.4–5.2) | 3.5 (2.7–4.6) | 0.022¶¶ |
| Prescribed daily dose of ICS µg BDP | 841 (704–1062) | 834 (642–995) | 0.412¶¶ |
| Dispensed daily dose of ICS µg BDP | 831 (728–1+) | 375 (210–520) | <0.001¶¶ |
| Daily SABA# | 13 (21.3) | 6 (9.4) | 0.082## |
| Daily LABA# | 46 (75.4) | 31 (48.4) | 0.003## |
| Daily LTRA# | 16 (26.2) | 6 (9.5) | 0.019## |
| Self-reported use of oral corticosteroid courses for asthma¶ | 26 (44.1) | 22 (34.4) | 0.355## |
| Dispensed oral corticosteroid for asthma per year mg+ | 125 (10–273) | 70 (0–193) | 0.176¶¶ |
| Co-medications (non-respiratory) | 2 (1–5) | 2 (0–4) | 0.116¶¶ |
| AQ20 score | 6 (3.5–8) | 5.5 (2–10) | 0.822¶¶ |
| ACT score | 21 (18–23) | 20 (16–23) | 0.795¶¶ |
| Allergy and/or rhinitis | 45 (73.8) | 46 (71.9) | 0.843## |
| Asthma-related visits to healthcare¶,§ | 19 (13–28) | 13 (9–22) | 0.005¶¶ |
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.