Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables of achalasia cohorts
| Type I Achalasia (n = 24) | Type II Achalasia (n = 73) | Type III Achalasia (n = 5) | Tissue donor (n = 10) | Healthy blood donor (n = 97) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample (sera / tissue) | ✓ / ✓ | ✓ / ✓ | ✓ / ✓ | − / ✓ | ✓ / − |
| Demographics | |||||
| Age (years) | |||||
| Mean ± SD | 40.9 ± 16.2 | 41.1 ± 14.9 | 53.2 ± 15.5 | 34.6 ± 12.6 | 43.5 ± 14.0 |
| Median | 38.5 | 40.0 | 44.0 | 33.0 | 44.0 |
| Range | 18–79 | 17–77 | 41–77 | 15–56 | 21–76 |
| Sex | |||||
| Female/male | 12 / 12 | 51 / 22 | 3 / 2 | 4 / 6 | 68 / 29 |
| (%) | 50 / 50 | 70 / 30 | 60 / 40 | 35 / 65 | 70 / 30 |
| Disease evolution (months) | |||||
| Mean ± SE | 31.6 ± 6.6 | 19.8 ± 2.9 | 58.8 ± 45.4 | NA | NA |
| Median | 18.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | ||
| Range | 5–150 | 1–120 | 6–240 | ||
| Clinical variables | |||||
| Dysphagia, n (%) | 23 (96) | 73 (100) | 5 (100) | ND | 0 (0) |
| Regurgitation, n (%) | 21 (88) | 69 (95) | 3 (60) | ND | 7 (7) |
| Weight loss, n (%) | 11 (46) | 68 (93) | 4 (80) | ND | 1 (1) |
| Heartburn, n (%) | 17 (71) | 52 (71) | 1 (20) | ND | 6 (6) |
| Other autoimmune disease, n (%) | 3 (13) | 11 (15) | 2 (40) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Allergy and asthma, n (%) | 3 (13) | 13 (18) | 0 (0) | 2 (2) | 5 (5) |
| Viral exanthematous childhood disease | |||||
| Chickenpox, n (%) | 18 (75) | 49 (67) | 2 (40) | ND | ND |
| Measles, n (%) | 12 (50) | 22 (30) | 1 (20) | ND | ND |
| Rubella, n (%) | 1 (4) | 6 (8) | 0 (0) | ND | ND |
| Hepatitis, n (%) | 1 (4) | 4 (6) | 0 (0) | ND | ND |
| Mumps, n (%) | 0 (0) | 3 (4) | 0 (0) | ND | ND |
| Environmental exposure | |||||
| Tobacco smoke exposure, n (%) | 7 (29) | 24 (32) | 2 (40) | ND | 3 (3) |
| Biomass smoke exposure, n (%) | 5 (21) | 17 (23) | 2 (40) | ND | 1 (1) |
| Laboratory data | |||||
| Anti-nuclear antibodies (%) | 37 | 28 | 80 | 0 | 1 |
| Immunohistochemistry | Type I Achalasia ( n = 15) | Type II Achalasia ( n = 31) | Type III Achalasia ( n = 5) | Transplant donor ( n = 10) | |
| MMP-9 (% positive cells per field) | |||||
| Mean ± SE | 6.5 ± 0.8 | 8.0 ± 1.0 | 16.7 ± 3.5 | 0.1 ± 0.1 | |
| Median | 6.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 0.0 | |
| Range | 0–10.5 | 2–20 | 10–22 | 0–0.5 | |
| MMP2 (% positive cells per field) | |||||
| Mean ± SE | 1.4 ± 0.5 | 3.7 ± 0.6 | 2.3 ± 1.2 | 0.9 ± 0.4 | |
| Median | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | |
| Range | 0–5 | 0–10 | 0–4 | 0–3.5 | |
SD standard deviation, SE standard error, NA not applicable, ND not determined; *P < 0.05