Subject Characteristics
A total of 1,386 asthmatic patients and 5,205 controls were used for
genetic association analyses. The demographic information of the study
population is shown in Table 1. The average ages of asthmatic patients
and controls were 50.3 and 49.8 years, respectively. Although age and
smoking history did not differ between the two groups, the proportion of
females was higher in the asthmatic group than in the control group
(55.2% vs. 44.1%). In addition, the body mass index (BMI) was higher
in the asthmatic group than in the control group (24.3±3.6 vs.
23.1±3.1). In comparison with the control group, the asthmatic group
demonstrated lower baseline FEV1 levels (78.8±20.2 vs. 101.8±12.2) and
FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) (70.7±0.1 vs. 82.0±0.1).