Transmission electron microscopy assessment of epithelial integrity
| Age (years) | n | Cells with loss of cilia (%) | Cells extruding from surface (%) | Cells with cytoplasmic blebbing (%) | Cells with mitochondrial damage (%) | Epithelial integrity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results are for individual age groups and expressed as the mean (5th and 95th percentiles). | ||||||
| 0–6 | 16 | 24.1 (9.1, 38.4) | 23.2 (12.9, 37.0) | 14.2 (6.4, 23.5) | 13.4 (1.1, 33.3) | 1.3 (0.8, 2.0) |
| 7–12 | 13 | 24.7 (6.0, 58.2) | 21.5 (10.5, 35.8) | 11.8 (5.5, 24.2) | 8.9 (0.0, 21.9) | 1.3 (0.8, 1.9) |
| 13–18 | 10 | 20.2 (7.2, 37.4) | 18.7 (7.9, 31.6) | 11.5 (2.5, 24.3) | 8.0 (2.3, 16.1) | 1.1 (0.8, 1.7) |
| ≥19 | 15 | 31.4 (15.7, 72.0) | 25.5 (18.6, 36.1) | 13.4 (6.0, 24.2) | 10.1(1.3, 21.5) | 1.1 (0.5, 2.0) |