AGE DOES NOT AFFECT BASAL GASTRIC-ACID SECRETION IN NORMAL SUBJECTS OR IN PATIENTS WITH ACID-PEPTIC DISEASE

Objectives: To determine whether basal acid output was affected by pat ient age. Methods: Basal acid output determined by nasogastric suction was prospectively evaluated in normal subjects (n = 65) and patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (n = 228), gastric ulcer (n = 81) , duodenal ulcer (n = 184), and nonulcer dyspepsia (n = 105). Results: There was no correlation between basal acid output and age for the no rmal subjects and the patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, g astric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, and nonulcer dyspepsia. However, there w as a significant inverse correlation between age and basal acid output for the 33 male patients with gastric ulcer (r = -0.41, p < 0.05) and the 130 male patients with duodenal ulcer (r -0.18, p = 0.05). Furthe rmore, mean basal acid outputs were significantly higher for male pati ents than for female patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (p < 0.001), gastric ulcer (p < 0.05), and duodenal ulcer (p < 0.001). Me an basal acid output for the 184 patients with duodenal ulcer was sign ificantly higher than the mean basal acid output for the 228 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (p < 0.001), and both were signif icantly higher than mean basal acid outputs for the normal subjects an d the patients with gastric ulcer and nonulcer dyspepsia (p < 0.0005). Conclusions: Basal acid output can vary with gender and acid-peptic d isease process; however, basal acid output does not vary with regard t o age of subject.