%0 Journal Article
%T Age-related clinical features of autoimmune hepatitis
%A LI Yanli
%J Journal of Clinical Hepatology
%D 2013
%I Journal of Clinical Hepatology
%X ObjectiveTo analyze and compare the clinical manifestations, biological and chemical indices, immunological indices, and liver biopsy histological features of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) according to patient age. MethodsNinety-eight adult Chinese patients diagnosed with AIH were divided into three groups according to age: £¼45 years old (young), 45-60 years old (middle-aged), and £¾60 years old (elderly). Significance of inter-group differences in the clinical manifestations, biological and chemical indices, immunological indices, and liver biopsy histology was assessed by ANOVA (normally distributed data) or Wilcoxon rank test (non-normally distributed data). ResultsThe elderly patients had a significantly higher frequency of hepatopathy than the young patients (50% vs. 20%, P£¼0ª±05) and a higher frequency of cirrhosis than either the young patients (40.6% vs. 5.7%, P£¼0.05). The elderly patients also had higher levels of total bilirubin (TBil) than the young patients (P£¼0.05). The level of serum complement factor 4 (C4) was remarkably lower in the middle-aged patients and elderly patients than in the young patients (P£¼0.05). The elderly patients had a higher frequency of antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) positivity but lower frequency of anti-smooth muscle autoantibodies (SMA) positivity than the young patients (ANA: 100% vs. 77.1%, P£¼0.05; SMA: 31.4% vs. 6.3%, P£¼0.05). The middle-aged and elderly patients had higher frequencies of interface hepatitis than the young patients (88.5% and 100% vs. 51.8%, P£¼0.05). The histology activity index (HAI) was also remarkably higher in the middle-aged and elderly patients than in the young patients (8.1¡À2.8 and 10.2¡À3.6 vs. 6.6¡À2.3, P£¼0ª±05). ConclusionElderly AIH patients have higher frequencies of cirrhosis and complications, as well as stronger inflammatory activities.
%K hepatitis
%K autoimmune
%K age groups
%K pathological conditions
%K signs and symptoms
%U http://www.lcgdbzz.org/qk_content.asp?id=5253&ClassID=115155916