Systemic and airway inflammatory markers in asthmatic children and adults when categorised according to body mass index
| Variables | Children | Adults | p-value | ||
| Obese | Non-obese | Obese | Non-obese | ||
| Subjects n | 34 | 15 | 85 | 73 | |
| Systemic inflammatory markers | |||||
| CRP mg·L−1 | 2.0 (1–3.8) | 1.2 (0.8–2.8) | 4.7*,#,¶ (1.9–9.6) | 1.7 (0.9–5.2) | <0.01 |
| Soluble CD163 ng·mL−1 | 1262#,¶ (1044–1657) | 877 (611–1024) | 1139¶ (872–1416) | 908 (640–1318) | 0.003 |
| Serum tryptase μg·mL−1 | 4.4 (3.6–5.9) | 3.3 (2.2–4.3) | 3.8 (2.8–5.9) | 4.5 (3.2–5.7) | 0.07 |
| IL-6 pg·mL−1 | 1.4 (0.8–2.1) | 0.8 (0.7–1.1) | 1.6 (0.7–2.8) | 1.3 (0.9–1.9) | 0.08 |
| Leptin pg·mL−1 | 4736 (656–20793) | 5985 (2349–13378) | 10937# (6798–21714) | 4447 (2252– 8586) | <0.01 |
| Adiponectin μg·mL−1 | 4.4 (3.8–6.6) | 6.5 (5.4–1.3) | 5.5 (2.9–10.4) | 5.7 (5.5–2.3) | 0.11 |
| Airway inflammatory markers | |||||
| Neutrophils % | 10.3 (7.1–28.4); n=21 | 7.0 (3.4–25.1); n=10 | 40.9*,¶ (23.6–64.6) | 36.5*,¶ (20.3–57.0); n=63 | <0.01 |
| Macrophages % | 78.8#,+ (56.3–84.8); n=21 | 60.8 (43.9–74.1); n=10 | 49.8 (28.8–66.4) | 51.8 (32.0–67.8); n=63 | 0.009 |
| Eosinophils % | 3.0 (0.5–7.3); n=21 | 9.3+ (4.8–46.8); n=10 | 2.0 (0.5–4.4) | 1.4 (0.5–6.3); n=54 | 0.01 |
| Total cell count ×106 cells·mL−1 | 2.3 (1.4–4.6) | 2.8 (1.9–8.7); n=8 | 2.5 (1.4–4.4); n=40 | 3.1 (2.3–5.0); n=52 | 0.23 |
Data are presented as median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. Bold indicates statistical significance. CRP: C-reactive protein; IL: interleukin. *: p<0.05 versus obese children; #: p<0.05 versus non-obese adults; ¶: p<0.05 versus non-obese children; +: p<0.05 versus obese adults.