Diffusing capacity and biomarkers in the obstructive asthma and asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS) groups
| Obstructive asthma <10 pack-years and FEV1/FVC <0.7 | ACOS: ≥10 pack-years FEV1/FVC <0.7 | p-value | |
| Subjects n | 19 | 34 | |
| DLCO % pred | 103±24 | 85±23 | 0.011 |
| DLCO/VA % pred | 100±17 | 86±22 | 0.018 |
| Blood neutrophils ×109 L−1 | 3.68±1.33 | 4.54±1.37 | 0.033 |
| Blood eosinophils ×109 L−1 | 0.16 (0.08–0.20) | 0.19 (0.10–0.29) | 0.217 |
| IgE kU·L−1 | 77 (29–198) | 59 (20–140) | 0.399 |
| FeNO ppb | 11 (5–24) | 10 (5–15) | 0.524 |
| hsCRP mg·L−1 | 0.94 (0.49–1.57) | 0.93 (0.59–3.04) | 0.475 |
| IL-6 pg·mL−1 | 1.64 (1.12–2.21) | 2.88 (1.88–4.99) | 0.001 |
Data are shown as mean±sd, or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. Statistically significant p-values are presented in bold. FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; DLCO: diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; VA: alveolar volume; IgE: immunoglobulin E; FeNO: exhaled nitric oxide; hsCRP: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; IL-6: interleukin 6.