Patient demographic, functional and inflammatory characteristics in the training and validation cohorts
| Training cohort (n=166) | Validation cohort (n=137) | |
| Asthmatic subjects | 63 (105) | 58 (80) |
| Age (years) | 51±16 | 51±15 |
| Male | 43 (71) | 36 (50) |
| BMI (kg·m−2) | 27±4.8 | 26±4.9 |
| Smoking status | ||
| Nonsmoker | 52 (87) | 51 (70) |
| Ex-smoker | 25 (42) | 31 (42) |
| Current smoker | 23 (37) | 18 (25) |
| Atopy | 47 (78) | 42 (58) |
| FEV1 (% pred) | 92±17 | 94±17 |
| FEV1/FVC (%) | 79±8.3 | 79±7.9 |
| FENO (ppb) | 21 (14–34) | 19 (13–29) |
| Sputum eosinophils (%)# | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0.2–2.5) |
| Blood eosinophils (%) | 2.5 (1.3–4.2) | 2.1 (1.2–3.1) |
| Blood eosinophils (μL−1) | 170 (98–290) | 160 (81–250) |
| Total serum IgE (kU·L−1) | 60 (22–252) | 78 (27–158) |
Data are presented as % (n), mean±sd or median (interquartile range). BMI: body mass index; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; FENO: exhaled nitric oxide fraction. #: n=95 in the training cohort and n=94 in the validation cohort.