Effect of gender on swallow event duration assessed by videofluoroscopy.
There are data suggesting that women swallow liquids at a lower flow rate and ingest smaller volumes in each swallow than men. Our objective in this work was to compare swallowing in asymptomatic men and women by videofluoroscopy. We studied 18 men [age = 33-77 years, mean = 61 (10) years] and 12 women [age = 29-72 years, mean = 53 (15) years] who swallowed in duplicate 5 and 10 ml of liquid and paste barium boluses. None of the volunteers had dysphagia, neurologic diseases, or oral, pharyngeal, or esophageal diseases. The videofluoroscopic examination showed that for the 5-ml bolus, women had a longer oropharyngeal transit [liquid: men, 0.63 (0.21) s, women, 0.88 (0.39) s; paste: men, 0.64 (0.35) s, women, 0.94 (0.58) s], longer oral transit [liquid: men, 0.41 (0.21) s, women, 0.59 (0.35) s; paste: men, 0.39 (0.28) s, women, 0.59 (0.42) s], and longer pharyngeal clearance [liquid: men, 0.36 (0.11) s, women, 0.45 (0.16) s; paste: men, 0.42 (0.25) s, women, 0.56 (0.27) s] compared with men (p < 0.05). We conclude that there are differences in swallowing between men and women, with women having a longer oropharyngeal transit than men for a 5-ml bolus.
Dantas
Roberto Oliveira
RO
Department of Medicine, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, 14049-900 Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil. rodantas@fmrp.usp.br
de Aguiar Cassiani
Rachel
R
dos Santos
Carla Manfredi
CM
Gonzaga
Geruza Costa
GC
Alves
Leda Maria Tavares
LM
Mazin
Suleimy Cristina
SC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003679:Deglutition; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors