Abstract
Hypothesis: It remains unclear whether aging delays wound healing, as past human studies have not adequately controlled for confounding factors such as morbidity and medications. Furthermore, although dermal wounds heal more quickly in women than in men, clinical observations suggest that the opposite may be true for mucosal healing. We assessed age and sex differences in mucosal wound healing, and we hypothesized that aging delays healing and sex modulates healing independent of age.
Design and Setting: Clinical experimental study performed from June 2000 to August 2003 involving younger and older adult volunteers from the general community.
Participants: Two hundred twelve mate and female volunteers aged 18 to 35 years (n = 119) or 50 to 88 years (n = 93).
Intervention: Standardized 3.5-mm circular wounds were placed on the oral hard palates of volunteers.
Main Outcome Measure: Wound videographs were taken daily for 7 days after wounding to assess wound closure.
Results: Wounds healed significantly more slowly in older adults compared with younger adults (P
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1193-1197 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Archives of Surgery |
Volume | 141 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2006 |