Exhaled Nitric Oxide in a Population Sample of Adults

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Abstract
Background: The relationship between exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) and the diagnosis of asthma in the general adult population is not completely clear. Objectives: To investigate the association between FENO and asthma, after controlling for atopy and rhinitis, in a general population sample of adults (mean age 43 years). Methods: The cohort of subjects was a sample of subjects who gave their consent to participate in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II study. Results: Atopy, rhinitis and current asthma were positively and current smoking was negatively associated with FENO. Multivariate analysis showed that asthma had a significant predictive effect on FENO (β = 0.53; 95% CI 0.21–0.84, p = 0.001), and the increase in FENO was significantly associated with the risk of current asthma (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.00–1.14) by the logistic regression model. Receiver-operater characteristic curve showed that FENO ≧18.5 ppb had the best combination of sensitivity (69.2%) and specificity (71%), with a positive predictive value of 24% and a negative predictive value of 95%, for the diagnosis of asthma. Conclusions: Measuring FENO seems to be suitable as an adjunct to questionnaire in the evaluation of asthma in the general population.