Anti-IgE versus anti-IL5*
| Anti-IgE (n=329) | Anti-IL5 (n=1120) | P value | |
| Age at first assessment | 47.6 (14.6) | 50.7 (14.1) | <0.001 |
| 18–34 | 71 (21.6%) | 167 (14.9%) | |
| 35–54 | 140 (42.6%) | 481 (43.0%) | |
| 55–79 | 117 (35.6%) | 464 (41.5%) | |
| 80+ | 1 (0.3%) | 6 (0.5%) | |
| Age at onset of symptoms | 15.2 (16.0) | 27.5 (19.2) | <0.001 |
| <12 | 168 (60.6%) | 279 (27.8%) | |
| 12–18 | 26 (9.4%) | 95 (9.5%) | |
| >18 | 83 (30.0%) | 630 (62.7%) | |
| Gender | 0.053 | ||
| Female | 220 (66.9%) | 683 (61.0%) | |
| Male | 109 (33.1%) | 437 (39.0%) | |
| Ethnicity | 0.143 | ||
| Caucasian | 261 (79.3%) | 895 (80.8%) | |
| Non-Caucasian | 68 (20.7%) | 213 (19.2%) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 31.3 (6.8) | 30.7 (7.0) | 0.183 |
| Smoking status | 0.757 | ||
| Never smoked | 233 (72.8%) | 763 (69.8%) | |
| Ex-smoker | 81 (25.3%) | 307 (28.1%) | |
| Current smoker | 6 (1.9%) | 23 (2.1%) | |
| Atopic disease | 281 (86.7%) | 578 (52.6%) | <0.001 |
| Spinal bone density (T-Score) | −0.7 (1.4) | −0.6 (1.4) | 0.593 |
| Femoral neck bone density (T-Score) | −0.3 (1.1) | −0.5 (1.2) | 0.062 |
| FEV1 (% predicted) | 63.4 (21.7) | 64.9 (20.6) | 0.321 |
| FVC (% predicted) | 82.4 (18.0) | 83.7 (20.2) | 0.369 |
| FEV1/FVC | 61.8 (14.7) | 63.0 (19.8) | 0.355 |
| Residual volume (% predicted) | 138.7 (44.9) | 136.8 (43.6) | 0.684 |
| Total lung capacity (% predicted) | 105.6 (17.5) | 105.4 (19.6) | 0.913 |
| ACQ6 Score | 2.8 (1.5) | 2.9 (1.4) | 0.178 |
| Rescue steroids in last year | 4 (2, 6) | 4 (3, 7) | 0.020 |
| Hospital admissions for asthma in last year | 0 (0, 1) | 0 (0, 1) | 0.047 |
| Invasive ventilations (ever) | 44 (14.1%) | 108 (10.2%) | 0.134 |
| Eczema | 7 (2.2%) | 17 (1.5%) | 0.748 |
| Nasal polyps | 36 (11.1%) | 230 (20.8%) | <0.001 |
| Gastro-oesophageal reflux | 44 (13.5%) | 145 (13.1%) | 0.979 |
| Depression or anxiety | 21 (6.5%) | 65 (5.9%) | 0.926 |
| Blood eosinophil count (N/109 L) | 0.22 (0.10, 0.50) | 0.40 (0.20, 0.68) | <0.001 |
| Highest blood eosinophil count (N/109 L)† | 0.50 (0.30, 0.80) | 0.72 (0.50, 1.10) | <0.001 |
| FeNO (ppb) | 31.0 (18.0, 61.0) | 44.0 (24.0, 81.0) | <0.001 |
| IgE (IU/mL) | 294 (151, 485) | 143 (47, 407) | <0.001 |
| Maintenance oral steroids | 145 (44.6%) | 723 (65.0%) | <0.001 |
| Maintenance oral steroid dose (mg) | 10 (5, 15) | 10 (8, 18) | 0.054 |
| Inhaled steroid dose (mcg, BDP equivalent) | 2000 (1600, 2000) | 2000 (1600, 2000) | 0.029 |
| LAMA | 176 (55.0%) | 589 (54.4%) | 0.859 |
| Theophylline | 102 (31.4%) | 289 (26.4%) | 0.106 |
| SABA | 313 (96.6%) | 1054 (95.7%) | 0.764 |
| Leukotriene receptor antagonist | 164 (52.4%) | 466 (43.3%) | 0.014 |
| Maintenance macrolide | 28 (9.0%) | 103 (9.6%) | 0.713 |
| Nebuliser | 89 (27.9%) | 267 (24.5%) | 0.442 |
| Prior anti-IgE therapy | 140 (42.8%) | 77 (7.0%) | <0.001 |
*Mean (SD), median (IQR) or count (%) as appropriate.
†Highest blood count is the highest recorded in available prior medical records.
ACQ, Asthma Control Questionnaire; BMI, body mass index; FeNO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; LAMA, long-acting antimuscarinic antagonist; SABA, short acting β2-agonist.