Characteristics of participants with current asthma (n = 179)
| Mean (SD) | |
|---|---|
| COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s. | |
| *Current or ex-smoker with > 10 pack-years of exposure to cigarette smoke.†Wheeze, shortness of breath and wheeze at night or chest tightness at night in the past year. | |
| ‡Defined as a FEV1/forced vital capacity ratio <0.7 after bronchodilator.12 | |
| Age (years) | 55.2 (13.6) |
| FEV1 pre-bronchodilator as a percentageof predicted | 77.8 (21.8) |
| n (%) | |
| Women | 87 (49) |
| Smoker* | 54 (30) |
| Asthma diagnosed by doctor | 137 (77) |
| Current symptoms† | 122 (68) |
| Any drug for asthma used in theprevious 12 months | 127 (71) |
| Inhaled corticosteroid use in theprevious 12 months | 93 (52) |
| Inhaled short-acting β-agonist use in theprevious 12 months | 114 (64) |
| COPD‡ | 67 (37) |
| Peak flow variability ⩾20% | 61 (34) |
| Bronchodilator reversibility ⩾15% | 43 (24) |