1. Effects of Age on the Gastroesophageal Junction, Esophageal Motility, and Reflux Disease 
Jacqueline Lee, Angela Anggiansah, Roy Anggiansah, Alasdair Young, Terry Wong, Mark Fox 
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 
Volume 5, Issue 12, Pages (December 2007)
DOI: /j.cgh
Copyright © 2007 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions

2. Figure 1
Increasing esophageal acid exposure was associated with a progressive, continuous decrease in LES pressure and abdominal LES length across the observed range. Both associations were significant (P < .0001); however, the impact of structural degredation of the reflux barrier (ie, decreasing abdominal LES length) was more pronounced than that of functional weakness (ie, decreasing LES pressure).
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2007 5, DOI: ( /j.cgh )
Copyright © 2007 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions

3. Figure 2
Increasing esophageal acid exposure was observed with increasing frequency of ineffective esophageal motility in each position on univariate analysis. The effect of esophageal dysmotility on GERD was significant only in the recumbent position on multivariate regression.
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2007 5, DOI: ( /j.cgh )
Copyright © 2007 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions

4. Figure 3
(A) Increasing age was independently associated with increasing esophageal acid exposure in patients with reflux symptoms referred for investigation. In a separate analysis the age-related increase in esophageal acid exposure was associated with (B) progressive decrease in abdominal LES length and (C) progressive impairment of esophageal motility. These effects were robust to outliers, and group comparisons confirmed that the prevalence of ineffective motility was highest in the elderly group.
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2007 5, DOI: ( /j.cgh )
Copyright © 2007 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions

5. Figure 4
The interaction of age, sex, and GERD. Esophageal acid exposure increased with age and was significantly higher in male patients referred for investigation (both P < .0001). In contrast, patient reports of reflux symptoms did not increase with age; rather, a small but significant decrease was observed (P < .006). Female patients reported slightly more reflux symptoms independent of esophageal acid exposure (P < .03).
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2007 5, DOI: ( /j.cgh )
Copyright © 2007 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions