Age as a dominant factor affecting gastric motility and emptying

Abstract

Gastric motility is the process of continuous propagation of peristaltic waves from the anterior part of the stomach to the pylorus region. These waves aid in the digestion of foods, importantly play a major role in gastric emptying of foods. The present study aimed to investigate whether ageing influences gastric motility in response to apple consumption. Subjects were asked to consume apple and water in the ratio of 3:1 followed by MRI scanning in the right lying position. Antral contraction wave characteristics like speed, frequency, amplitude and width of the wave and occlusion percentage were calculated. Average contractions per minute were obtained as 2.67±0.06 for young age and 2.43±0.22 for middle-aged healthy humans. From the obtained results, no significant difference was found between the assessed motility parameters.