Age-related changes in the trachea in healthy adults.
To investigate age-related changes in the shape of trachea, normal male volunteers (n = 83, mean +/- SD: 47.7 +/- 20.2 years old) underwent inspiratory CT scans at full inspiration and lung function tests. Subjects who showed VC < 80% predicted or FEV1 < 80% predicted on lung function tests were excluded. The CT data, which is located at 2.0 cm above the aortic arch, were transferred to a personal computer. The tracheal area (St) and two parameters, Tracheal index (Ti) and Circularity (Ci) indicating the shape of the trachea, were automatically calculated. Ti was defined the ratio of the coronal to the sagittal diameter of the trachea, and the Ci (Ci = 4piS/L2, S: tracheal area, L: tracheal perimeter) was used to indicate the roundness of the trachea. A Ci value of less than 1 indicated the distortion of the roundness. Both St and St/BSA (body surface area) showed a significant correlation with age (r = 0.37, r = 0.52; p = 0.0006, p < 0.0001). Ti was not correlated with age (r = -0.20; p = 0.0697), whereas Ci was significantly correlated with age (r = -0.32; p = 0.00364). There were measurable age related changes of the trachea both in the area and the shape. Aging results in the increased tracheal area and a distortion of the roundness.
Sakai
Hiroaki
H
Departments of Thoracic Surgery, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. hsakai@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Nakano
Yasutaka
Y
Muro
Shigeo
S
Hirai
Toyohiro
T
Takubo
Yasutaka
Y
Oku
Yoshitaka
Y
Hamakawa
Hiroshi
H
Takahashi
Ayuko
A
Sato
Toshihiko
T
Chen
Fengshi
F
Sahara
Hisashi
H
Fujinaga
Takuji
T
Sato
Kiyoshi
K
Sonobe
Makoto
M
Shoji
Tsuyoshi
T
Miyahara
Ryo
R
Okubo
Kenichi
K
Bando
Toru
T
Hirata
Toshiki
T
Date
Hiroshi
H
Mishima
Michiaki
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D014132:Trachea / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult