HomeLarge Type Edition
HOME ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Services
Right arrow Download to citation manager
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 60:396-398 (2005)
© 2005 The Gerontological Society of America

Endonasal Geometry Changes in Elderly People: Acoustic Rhinometry Measurements

Limor Muallem Kalmovich1,, David Elad2, Uri Zaretsky2, Abraham Adunsky3, Angela Chetrit4, Siegal Sadetzki4, Samuel Segal1 and Michael Wolf5

1 Department of Otolaryngology, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
2 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
3 Department of Geriatric Medicine
4 The Cancer Epidemiology Unit (Gertner Institute)
5 Department of Otolaryngology (Sheba Medical Center), and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Address correspondence to Limor Muallem Kalmovich, MD, Department of Otolaryngology, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zeriffin, 70300, Israel. E-mail: Limorm{at}barak-online.net

Background. Skeletal nasal changes in elderly people have been extensively investigated, but data on variation of the endonasal architecture with age do not exist. We evaluated endonasal parameters in an elderly population as compared with those in a young group.

Methods. Acoustic rhinometry measurements were performed on 165 participants in the age range of 20–93 years. The rhinograms provided the endonasal volume from the nostril entrance to a 7.0 cm cephalic point (V0-7) and the minimal cross-sectional areas (MCA1 and MCA2). Statistical analysis was performed by Pearson correlation and one-way analysis of variance, using age as a continuous or categorical variable.

Results. There was no statistical difference in gender distribution within each age group. The results obtained for the left and right nostrils were similar. Endonasal volume V0-7 and the narrowing areas MCA1 and MCA2 significantly increase with age, except for men over 80 years in which a relative decrease was observed.

Conclusion. Acoustic rhinometry examination of the endonasal architecture in a healthy young and elderly population demonstrated a gradual increase of endonasal volumes and minimal cross-sectional areas with age.







HOME ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2005 by The Gerontological Society of America.