Comparison of symptoms, previous exacerbations, health status and systemic biomarker levels between the study groups.

Values are mean ± SD or frequency. Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; mMRC = modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale; SGRQ = St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire; EQ-5D = EuroQol 5 Dimensions questionnaire; VAS = Visual analogue scale; LCADL = London Chest Activities of Daily Living; CRP = C-reactive protein; TNF = tumor necrosis factor; IL = interleukin; NOx = nitrites/nitrates.Comparisons between groups by ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons: †p‡p¶p§p