Demographic characteristics of acute asthma, chronic asthma, and control groups
| Acute asthma (n=123) | Chronic asthma (n=46) | Controls (n=1518) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnic origin | |||
| Caucasian | 67 (54.5%) | 45 (97.8%) | 1061 (69.9%) |
| Asian | 39 (31.7%) | 0 | 290 (19.1%) |
| Afro-Caribbean | 17 (13.8%) | 1 (2.2%) | 167 (11.0%) |
| Age (years) | |||
| Range | 16–82 | 15–62 | 16–88 |
| Mean (SD) | 45.5 (16.2) | 36.2 (11.4) | 56.5 (18.0) |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 47 (38.2%) | 14 (30.4%) | 844 (55.6%) |
| Female | 76 (61.8%) | 32 (69.6%) | 674 (44.4%) |
| Mean (SD) Townsend score | 5.1 (3.1) | 1.1 (3.8) | 4.6 (3.5) |
| Smoking habit | |||
| Current | 27 (22.0%) | 13 (28.3%) | 448 (29.5%) |
| Previous (>3 months) | 12 (9.8%) | 6 (13.0%) | 264 (17.4%) |
| Never | 82 (66.6%) | 21 (45.7%) | 689 (45.4%) |
| Steroid use | |||
| Inhaled only | 44 (35.8%) | 43 (93.5%) | 61 (4.0%) |
| Systemic | 25 (20.3%) | 3 (6.5%) | 52 (3.4%) |
| None | 53 (43.1%) | 0 | 1393 (91.8%) |
| Diabetes mellitus | |||
| Insulin dependent | 1 (0.8%) | NA | 54 (3.6%) |
| Non-insulin dependent | 10 (8.1%) | NA | 86 (5.7%) |
| Unknown | 10 (8.1%) | NA | 58 (3.8%) |
NA = not available.