Evaluation of new exocrine pancreatic function tests and their application to clinical research I. Aging and exocrine pancreatic function as evaluated by fecal chymotrypsin activity

To examine the relationship between aging and pancreatic exocrine function, fecal chymotrypsin activity (FCA) was measured by a photometric method in 62 healthy controls (20 to 87 years old, with a mean age of 51.0), 43 patients with non-pancreatic diseases ( 31 to 83 years old, with a mean age of 55.7), 40 controls with no known digestive diseases in an old-age home (63 to 92 years old, with a mean age of 77.6) and 22 patients with chronic pancreatitis (17 to 72 years old, with a mean age of 52.9).Pancreatic exocrine function decreased significantly with aging as indicated by: (a) a significant inverse correlation between aging and FCA in the 62 healthy controls (r=-0.56, p<0.001), in the 43 patients with non-pancreatic diseases (r=-0.58, p<0.001), and in the 40 controls in an old-age home (r=-0.52, p