Comparison of serum biomarker levels obtained at baseline and at 18-year FU
| Baseline—all | 18-year FU—all | Paired samples Baseline | 18-year FU | P value (Wilcoxon) | |
| n | 236 | 284 | 150 | 150 | |
| IL-1β | 16.5 (6.7–30.5) | 11.8 (8.6–18.0) | 16.9 (3.8–30.5) | 12.5 (8.2–19.7) | <0.001 |
| IL-4 | 88.6 (55.4–132.7) | 83.0 (66.2–112.8) | 81.9 (54.0–121.0) | 80.0 (63.0–125.0) | 0.010 |
| IL-6 | 6.7 (3.2–13.0) | 4.5 (3.3–6.2) | 6.4 (3.2–13.6) | 4.5 (3.6–6.0) | <0.001 |
| IL-10 | 5.3 (2.3–7.1) | 0.7 (0.0–2.3) | 5.0 (1.4–7.1) | 0.9 (0.3–2.8) | <0.001 |
| IL-12 | 13.4 (0.5–72.5) | 58.8 (22.8–92.4) | 33.6 (0.5–88.4) | 72.5 (42.0–105.0) | <0.001 |
| IL-13 | 497 (387–621) | 448 (363–498) | 502 (389–621) | 467 (392–529) | 0.249 |
| IL-17 | 10.3 (0.8–16.2) | 1.9 (0.7–3.3) | 8.0 (0.8–15.2) | 1.9 (0.7–5.6) | <0.001 |
| IL-18 | 205 (136–291) | 149 (106–219) | 190 (126–282) | 139 (98–211) | <0.001 |
| TNFα | 9.2 (1.7–16.6) | 8.2 (3.9–12.8) | 6.7 (1.0–14.6) | 6.9 (3.6–12.3) | 0.537 |
| MMP-3 | 5174 (1747–17 493) | 6557 (4656–10 098) | 6095 (1954–16 424) | 6600 (4874–10 758) | 0.466 |
| CCL-2 | 180 (112–251) | 182 (143–231) | 166 (108–251) | 187 (150–240) | 0.066 |
| CD25 | 587 (420–766) | 780 (442–1554) | 540 (413–737) | 336 (264–418) | <0.001 |
| GM-CSF | 0.4 (0.4–3.8) | 0.4 (0.4–3.6) | 0.5 (0.4–4.8) | 1.7 (0.4–4.7) | 0.638 |
| MPO | 2294 (1579–3572) | 4010 (1925–6178) | 2299 (1494–3414) | 4522 (2967–6231) | <0.001 |
| S100A9 | 511 (314–1277) | 780 (442–1554) | 549 (305–1191) | 782 (445–1553) | 0.009 |
| S100A12 | 924 (434–1610) | 922 (591–1423) | 976 (443–1637) | 922 (576–1456) | 0.407 |
Values are in picograms/millilitre (pg/mL) expressed as median (IQR). P values were calculated using Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired comparison.
*Paired serum analyses from the same individuals taken both at baseline and at 18-year FU, n=150.
CCL-2, chemokine ligand 2; FU, follow-up; GM-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; IL, interleukin; MMP-3, matrix metalloproteinase 3; MPO, myeloperoxidase; S100A9, S100 calcium-binding protein A9; S100A12, S100 calcium-binding protein A12; TNFα, tumour necrosis factor alpha.