British Journal of Dermatology

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
               <jats:sec>
                  <jats:title>Background</jats:title>
                  <jats:p>Looking older for one’s chronological age is associated with a higher mortality rate. Yet it remains unclear how perceived facial age relates to morbidity and the degree to which facial ageing reflects systemic ageing of the human body.</jats:p>
               </jats:sec>
               <jats:sec>
                  <jats:title>Objectives</jats:title>
                  <jats:p>To investigate the association between ΔPA and age-related morbidities of different organ systems, where ΔPA represents the difference between perceived age (PA) and chronological age.</jats:p>
               </jats:sec>
               <jats:sec>
                  <jats:title>Methods</jats:title>
                  <jats:p>We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. High-resolution facial photographs of 2679 men and women aged 51.5–87.8 years of European descent were used to assess PA. PA was estimated and scored in 5-year categories using these photographs by a panel of men and women who were blinded for chronological age and medical history. A linear mixed model was used to generate the mean PAs. The difference between the mean PA and chronological age was calculated (ΔPA), where a higher (positive) ΔPA means that the person looks younger for their age and a lower (negative) ΔPA that the person looks older. ΔPA was tested as a continuous variable for association with ageing-related morbidities including cardiovascular, pulmonary, ophthalmological, neurocognitive, renal, skeletal and auditory morbidities in separate regression analyses, adjusted for age and sex (model 1) and additionally for body mass index, smoking and sun exposure (model 2).</jats:p>
               </jats:sec>
               <jats:sec>
                  <jats:title>Results</jats:title>
                  <jats:p>We observed 5-year higher ΔPA (i.e. looking younger by 5 years for one’s age) to be associated with less osteoporosis [odds ratio (OR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62–0.93], less chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77–0.95), less age-related hearing loss (model 2; B = −0.76, 95% CI −1.35 to −0.17) and fewer cataracts (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73–0.97), but with better global cognitive functioning (g-factor; model 2; B = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04–0.10).</jats:p>
               </jats:sec>
               <jats:sec>
                  <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title>
                  <jats:p>PA is associated with multiple morbidities and better cognitive function, suggesting that systemic ageing and cognitive ageing are, to an extent, externally visible in the human face.</jats:p>
               </jats:sec>

Erasmus Medical Center

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Research and Development

Ministry of Education

European Commission

Unilever

Cochlear

Psychosocial aspects of aging skin

Dermatol Clin

Mortality is written on the face

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci

Perceived age of facial features is a significant diagnosis criterion for age-related carotid atherosclerosis in Japanese subjects: J-SHIPP study

Geriatr Gerontol Int

Gray hair, baldness, and wrinkles in relation to myocardial infarction: the Copenhagen City Heart Study

Am Heart J

Perceived age is associated with bone status in women aged 25–93 years

Age (Dordr)

Objectives, design and main findings until 2020 from the Rotterdam Study

Eur J Epidemiol

The MC1R gene and youthful looks

Curr Biol

Perceived age as a biomarker of ageing: a clinical methodology

Biogerontology

Lifestyle and physiological factors associated with facial wrinkling in men and women

J Invest Dermatol

A healthy diet in women is associated with less facial wrinkles in a large Dutch population-based cohort

J Am Acad Dermatol

Contributing determinants to hearing loss in elderly men and women: results from the population-based Rotterdam Study

Audiol Neurotol

Patterns of cognitive function in aging: the Rotterdam Study

No adjustments are needed for multiple comparisons

Epidemiology

Epidemiology and determinants of facial telangiectasia: a cross-sectional study

J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol

A genome-wide association study identifies the skin color genes IRF4, MC1R, ASIP, and BNC2 influencing facial pigmented spots

Extracellular matrix regulation of fibroblast function: redefining our perspective on skin aging

J Cell Commun Signal

Energy metabolism of the osteoblast: implications for osteoporosis

Endocr Rev

The osteoblast: a sophisticated fibroblast under central surveillance

Science

Fibroblast growth factors: a controlling mechanism of skin aging

Skin Pharmacol Physiol

Disruption of the fibroblast growth factor-2 gene results in decreased bone mass and bone formation

J Clin Invest

Patterns of change in facial skeletal aging

JAMA Facial Plast Surg

Relationship between BMD, dental panoramic radiographic findings and biochemical markers of bone turnover in diagnosis of osteoporosis

Maturitas

Age-related cataract

Lancet

Role of tobacco smoking in the causation of chronic respiratory disease

N Engl J Med

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in non-smokers

Air pollution and skin aging

Curr Environ Health Rep

P16INK4a positive cells in human skin are indicative of local elastic fiber morphology, facial wrinkling, and perceived age

Perceived age as clinically useful biomarker of ageing: cohort study

Looking older for one's chronological age is associated with a higher mortality rate. Yet it remains unclear how perceived facial age relates to morbidity and the degree to which facial ageing reflects systemic ageing of the human body.
To investigate the association between ΔPA and age-related morbidities of different organ systems, where ΔPA represents the difference between perceived age (PA) and chronological age.
We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. High-resolution facial photographs of 2679 men and women aged 51.5-87.8 years of European descent were used to assess PA. PA was estimated and scored in 5-year categories using these photographs by a panel of men and women who were blinded for chronological age and medical history. A linear mixed model was used to generate the mean PAs. The difference between the mean PA and chronological age was calculated (ΔPA), where a higher (positive) ΔPA means that the person looks younger for their age and a lower (negative) ΔPA that the person looks older. ΔPA was tested as a continuous variable for association with ageing-related morbidities including cardiovascular, pulmonary, ophthalmological, neurocognitive, renal, skeletal and auditory morbidities in separate regression analyses, adjusted for age and sex (model 1) and additionally for body mass index, smoking and sun exposure (model 2).
We observed 5-year higher ΔPA (i.e. looking younger by 5 years for one's age) to be associated with less osteoporosis [odds ratio (OR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62-0.93], less chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77-0.95), less age-related hearing loss (model 2; B = -0.76, 95% CI -1.35 to -0.17) and fewer cataracts (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73-0.97), but with better global cognitive functioning (g-factor; model 2; B = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.10).
PA is associated with multiple morbidities and better cognitive function, suggesting that systemic ageing and cognitive ageing are, to an extent, externally visible in the human face.

Younger facial looks are associate with a lower likelihood of several age-related morbidities in the middle-aged to elderly.

Younger facial looks are associate with a lower likelihood of several age-related morbidities in the middle-aged to elderly

Papers