Influence of environmental factors on facial ageing.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Cross-sectional analysis within a longitudinal twin cohort
PubMed 16407433 · doi:10.1093/ageing/afj031
What was done
Data were evaluated from the 2001 wave of the population-based Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins, including 1,826 twins aged 70 and older who had high-quality facial photographs taken. Ten nurses independently estimated the visual age of each participant from the photographs, and the mean of these estimates was used as perceived age. Determinants of facial ageing were analyzed using multivariate linear regression and intrapair comparisons among twin pairs, controlling for disease status.
What was found
In men, higher perceived facial age was significantly associated with smoking (P = 0.01), sun exposure (P = 0.02), and low body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.005), with number of children showing borderline significance. In women, low BMI (P = 0.05) and low social class (P < 0.005) were significantly associated with older perceived age, with marital status (P = 0.08) and depression scores showing borderline associations. Numerical effect estimates and regression coefficients were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study shows that non-genetic, modifiable lifestyle factors—including sun exposure, smoking, and body mass index—alongside socioeconomic markers are significantly associated with perceived physical aging in late life, with notable differences between men and women.
Limits
The study is cross-sectional in its visual assessment, precluding causal conclusions. Key quantitative effect sizes and confidence intervals were omitted from the abstract. Findings in Danish twins aged 70 and older may not generalize to younger age groups or diverse racial and ethnic populations. Exposure measures relied on self-reported survey data.
Cited by
- contradicts Twin studies from Denmark demonstrate that identical twins with differing lifestyle habits (such as smoking, obesity, and sun exposure) exhibit substantially different physical aging rates.