We studied the relationship of skin test reactivity (sumscore greater than or equal to 3) and eosinophilia (greater than or equal to 275 cells/mm3 blood), separately and combined, to the level of FEV1 in a community cohort. We used the regression analysis technique, adjusting for age and area of residence, and stratifying by gender and cigarette smoking. Eosinophilia, among men, was associated with lower levels of FEV1 in skin test negative subjects with moderate cigarette smoking (greater than or equal to 10 pack-yr: beta = -250 ml, p = 0.02; greater than or equal to 10 pack-yr: beta = -234 ml, p less than 0.01) and in skin test positive subjects who either never smoked (beta = -228 ml, p = 0.06) or had only a brief history of smoking (beta = -428 ml, p less than 0.01). Eosinophilia, among women, was significantly associated with lower levels of FEV1 in never smokers (beta = -95 ml, p less than 0.01), especially if subjects were skin test positive as well (beta = -289 ml, p less than 0.01). Moderate cigarette smoking was uncommon in women. These data suggest an association of indices of inflammation (eosinophilia alone) and allergic inflammation (eosinophilia combined with skin test reactivity) with lower levels of FEV1, independent of the effect of cigarette smoking.