Patient characteristics
| Placebo (n=7) | Inulin (n=9) | ||||
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | P value | |
| Age | 69.71 | 6.50 | 72.78 | 6.46 | 0.18 |
| Gender (male, %) | 42.86 | N/A | 66.67 | N/A | 0.34 |
| Body mass index | 29.68 | 6.06 | 28.66 | 4.85 | 0.71 |
| Smoking pack years | 56.21 | 20.02 | 49.73 | 24.94 | 0.6 |
| FEV1/FVC | 0.48 | 0.09 | 0.48 | 0.13 | 0.95 |
| FEV1% | 55.43 | 18.04 | 54.56 | 16.18 | 0.98 |
| Freq. exacerbators (n, %) | 5 (71) | N/A | 3 (33) | N/A | 0.13 |
| Medications (n, %) | |||||
| Inhaled corticosteroids | 5 (71) | N/A | 7 (77) | N/A | 0.77 |
| Beta agonists | 7 (100) | N/A | 9 (100) | N/A | >0.99 |
| LAMA | 1 (14) | N/A | 2 (22) | N/A | 0.69 |
| Statin | 2 (28) | N/A | 6 (67) | N/A | 0.13 |
| PPI | 4 (57) | N/A | 3 (33) | N/A | 0.34 |
| ACE | 2 (28) | N/A | 2 (22) | N/A | 0.77 |
| Beta blockers | 1 (14) | N/A | 1 (11) | N/A | 0.85 |
| Angiotensin II receptor antagonist | 2 (28) | N/A | 1 (11) | N/A | 0.37 |
| SSRI/SNRI | 2 (28) | N/A | 1 (11) | N/A | 0.37 |
| Season during intervention (n, %) | |||||
| Spring/summer | 2 (28) | N/A | 3 (33) | N/A | 0.84 |
ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; LAMA, long-acting muscarinic antagonists; PPI, proton pump inhibitors; SNRI, serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor; SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.