Age-Related Fecal Calprotectin Concentrations in Healthy Adults

Abstract

Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a marker used for the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). FC is also used to determine the effects of treatment and recurrence prediction because of its non-decomposition by bacteria, relative week stability at room temperature, and its uniform distribution within feces. Healthy male and female adults between the age of 30 and 80 living in Jeju were selected for this study. The FC concentration in the healthy control group (N=45) was distributed widely as 0∼545.9 μg/g and showed a significant difference with age in healthy adults. The FC concentration in adults over 70 years old (80.6 years on average) was 160.3 μg/g. The result is approximately 10 times higher than in adults below 50 years (44 years on average), with FC concentrations at 15.88 μg/g. Moreover, adults over 50 years, with an average age of 59.6, had FC concentrations of 35.46 μg/g, which were two times higher than the below 50-year-old group, confirming the significant correlation between age and FC concentration. As the FC test is a non-invasive and cost-effective objective marker in IBD tests, a suitable cutoff value is required for different ages. This study provides the baseline data for differential diagnoses.

Impact of Biometric Patient Data, Probiotic Supplementation, and Selected Gut Microorganisms on Calprotectin, Zonulin, and sIgA Concentrations in the Stool of Adults Aged 18–74 Years

“…Conversely, von Roon et al demonstrated that a cut-off of 100 µg/g may have higher diagnostic efficiency and precision than 50 µg/g [ 50 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]. Contrary to other studies, except that of Park et al [ 56 ], we did not observe any correlations between gender, BMI, and calprotectin concentration [ 54 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ].…”

Gut inflammation associated with age and Alzheimer’s disease pathology

“…While there are few existing human studies on calprotectin, emerging evidence suggests that fecal calprotectin levels may vary across the life course and in age-related disease (54–58) . For instance, in a population study of children aged 0 to 18 years old, median fecal calprotectin level among healthy infants under 1 year old was nearly twice that of children between 1 and 18 years old (59–62) .…”

“…For instance, in a population study of children aged 0 to 18 years old, median fecal calprotectin level among healthy infants under 1 year old was nearly twice that of children between 1 and 18 years old (59–62) . One small study showed a 2-to 10-fold difference in fecal calprotectin among 45 healthy participants between 30 and 80 years old, however the vast majority of aging studies have examined calprotectin among cohorts with clinical disease diagnoses (46, 54, 57, 58, 63) . While our study was enriched for individuals with biologic and clinical AD, we determined that older participants had higher levels of fecal calprotectin while controlling for disease stage, and the results remained significant after performing sensitivity analyses that included only cognitively unimpaired participants, suggesting that advancing age increases gut inflammation independently of symptomatic AD.…”

“…While there are few existing human studies on calprotectin, emerging evidence suggests that fecal calprotectin levels may vary across the life course and in age-related disease (54)(55)(56)(57)(58).…”

“…For instance, in a population study of children aged 0 to 18 years old, median fecal calprotectin level among healthy infants under 1 year old was nearly twice that of children between 1 and 18 years old (59)(60)(61)(62). One small study showed a 2-to 10-fold difference in fecal calprotectin among 45 healthy participants between 30 and 80 years old, however the vast majority of aging studies have examined calprotectin among cohorts with clinical disease diagnoses (46,54,57,58,63).…”