Environmental influences on skin aging and ethnic-specific manifestations

Abstract

Skin aging does not only occur by passing time alone but also by the exposure to different environmental factors. The skin aging process, which is induced by environmental factors, is named premature or extrinsic skin aging process and can be distinguished from the chronologically (intrinsic) skin aging process by characteristic skin aging signs. Well known environmental factors leading to extrinsic skin aging are sun exposure and smoking. Recently, an epidemiological study could further discover an association between air pollution and skin aging. First of all the skin aging inducing effect of sun exposure was discovered and an own term (photoaging) was given to this special field of extrinsic skin aging. Mechanistic studies have further increased our knowledge about the molecular pathways by which environmental factors contribute to extrinsic skin aging. In this regard, profound knowledge how sun exposure leads to extrinsic skin aging were gained in the last years, and additionally there are also indications how smoking and air pollution might contribute to this process. Moreover it was realized that extrinsic skin aging manifests differently between different populations. Thus, in this review we summarize the influence of the different environmental factors: sun exposure, smoking and air pollution on skin aging and further present ethnic-specific manifestations of extrinsic skin aging.

Mathematical and computational modelling of skin biophysics: a review

“…From the mechanical and material science point of view, the skin is primarily a multi-phasic and multi-scale structure which, as a result, encompasses a rich set of mechanical properties and constitutive behaviours [13,14]. The biological nature of this structure renders these properties very dynamic, particularly over a lifetime, and like most biological tissues, there is a strong variability according to body site, individuals, age, sex, ethnicity and exposure to specific environmental conditions [15,16]. At the meso-macroscopic level, skin is generally considered as a multi-layer assembly made up of three main distinct structures: the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis (figure 1) [11,14,17,18].…”

Aging Skin: Nourishing from the Inside Out, Effects of Good Versus Poor Nitrogen Intake on Skin Health and Healing

“…The first type of skin aging is called intrinsic aging, while the second is called extrinsic aging [30,31]. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to think that extrinsic aging works on the same basis as the intrinsic mechanisms of aging.…”

Oxidative Stress and Human Skin Connective Tissue Aging

“…The levels of protein carbonyls, a well-established biomarker of oxidative damage, are significantly elevated in the dermis of aged human skin [20]. Human skin is exposed to ROS generated from both environmental sources such as UV light from the sun [21], airborne pollutants such as ozone [22] and particulate matter [23], as well as the endogenous oxidative metabolism [20]. The elevation of ROS and oxidative damage impairs cellular functions and creates an aged-related aberrant dermal ECM microenvironment, which impairs the skin's structure and functions [1,20,24].…”