Gastric emptying time of fluids and solids in healthy subjects determined by 13C breath tests: influence of age, sex and body mass index.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional study establishing normative reference values in healthy volunteers
PubMed 17074022 · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1746.2006.04449.x
What was done
Gastric emptying of fluid and solid test meals was evaluated in 90 healthy adults (45 men, 45 women) using 13C breath tests. Participants ingested 100 mg of 13C-sodium acetate (fluids) or 13C-sodium octanoate (solids), and breath samples were analyzed via non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy. The study evaluated half gastric emptying time (T1/2) and time of fastest emptying (Tlag) and analyzed correlations with age, sex, and body mass index (BMI).
What was found
For the fluid test meal, mean (± SD) T1/2 was 80.5 ± 22.1 minutes and Tlag was 40.3 ± 10.2 minutes. Solid meal parameters were not normally distributed; median solid T1/2 was 127 minutes (25th–75th percentiles: 112.0–168.3 min) and median Tlag was 81.5 minutes (25th–75th percentiles: 65.5–102.0 min). Gastric emptying parameters showed no statistically significant correlation with age, sex, or BMI.
Why it matters
This study provides normative reference intervals for non-invasive 13C breath testing of both fluid and solid gastric emptying in healthy individuals, establishing that adjustments for age, sex, or BMI may not be necessary when interpreting clinical results.
Limits
The abstract does not state the age range or BMI distribution of the cohort. Only healthy volunteers were evaluated without comparison to patients with diagnosed gastroparesis or functional dyspepsia. Gastric emptying demonstrated substantial inter-individual variability.
Cited by
- contradicts It takes at least five hours for the human stomach to digest a meal after eating.