Quantitative analysis of tongue changes with aging using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging

Objective: This study aimed to quantitatively assess the changes in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of the tongue with aging using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the ADC map of 480 patients (230 men, 250 women; mean age, 53.66 years; age range, 20–89 years) with the tongue not affected by disease, between January 2018, and February 2020. The Mann–Whitney U test was performed with the ADC value as the explanatory variable and the sex as the criterion variable. Moreover, we calculated the Spearman's correlation coefficient with age as the criterion variable and ADC value as the explanatory variable. Results: A significantly positive correlation was found between age and ADC values of the tongue in the men and women groups (P < 0.001). However, no significant differences were observed between the sex and the ADC values of the tongue (P = 0.19). Conclusions: These findings suggest that age should be taken into consideration when making a differential diagnosis of the tongue using ADC values.