title: Effect of gender on swallow event duration assessed by videofluoroscopy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, 14049-900 Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil. rodantas@fmrp.usp.br
authors.forename: Roberto Oliveira
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Dantas
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Aguiar Cassiani
authors.forename: Carla Manfredi
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Geruza Costa
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Gonzaga
authors.forename: Leda Maria Tavares
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Suleimy Cristina
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Mazin
mesh_terms: 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