Efeitos da idade sobre as frequências de micronúcleos e alterações nucleares degenerativas

The effects of aging, gender and lifestyle factors on inducing chromosomal damage (micronuclei) and nuclear degenerative changes were assessed using the micronucleus test on exfoliated cells of the oral mucosa. The sample included 80 healthy subjects divided into four groups according to age and gender: men and women aged 19-29 years (M19, W19) and men and women aged over sixty years (M60, W60). An interview questionnaire was used to characterize the sample and to determine an index reflecting lifestyle (HLI). The frequency of micronuclei and nuclear degenerative changes was significantly higher among the elderly (p0.05). The occurrence of micronuclei was similar among elderly men and women (p>0.10), but karyorrhexis and karyolysis were more frequent among men (p0,05). Ocorrência de micronúcleos foi similar entre homens e mulheres idosos (p>0,10), mas cariorréxis e cariólise foram mais frequentes entre os homens (p