Normative values for region-specific colonic and gastrointestinal transit times in 111 healthy volunteers using the 3D-Transit electromagnet tracking system: Influence of age, gender, and body mass index.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional normative physiological study in healthy volunteers
PubMed 31565841 · doi:10.1111/nmo.13734
What was done
Regional and total colonic transit times (CTT), gastric emptying (GET), small intestinal (SITT), and whole gut (WGTT) transit times were measured in 111 healthy volunteers from the United Kingdom and Denmark (58 female; median age 40 years, range 21–88) using the ambulatory 3D-Transit electromagnet tracking system. The associations of age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) with transit times were evaluated.
What was found
Regional colonic transit accounted for 32% (ascending), 34% (transverse), 17% (descending), and 17% (rectosigmoid) of total CTT in females, compared to 33%, 25%, 14%, and 28% in males. CTT and WGTT clustered at intervals separated by approximately 24 hours. Increasing age was significantly associated with longer CTT (P = .021), WGTT (P < .001), ascending colon (P = .004), transverse colon (P < .001), and total right colon (P < .001) transit times, but shorter rectosigmoid transit time (P = .004). Female gender was associated with longer transverse (P = .049) and descending (P < .001) colon transit, but shorter rectosigmoid transit (P < .001). Higher BMI was associated with shorter WGTT (P = .012). Absolute transit times in hours or minutes were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study provides normative reference data for segment-specific colonic transit using an ambulatory electromagnetic tracking system, demonstrating that baseline transit metrics must account for age, gender, and BMI.
Limits
The sample size is modest (n = 111) and drawn only from two European cohorts. Absolute transit times, confidence intervals, and variance metrics are omitted from the abstract, and potential confounders such as diet and physical activity were not described.
Cited by
- context Normal bowel transit time in a beet test is between 24 and 30 hours.