Facial Appearance Reflects Human Familial Longevity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Healthy Individuals

Gunn, David A.; Craen, Anton J. M. de; Dick, Joanne L.; Tomlin, Cyrena C.; Heemst, Diana van; Catt, S D; Griffiths, Tamara; Ogden, Stephanie; Maier, Andrea B.; Murray, P. G.; Griffiths, Christopher E.M.; Slagboom, P. Eline; Westendorp, Rudi G. J.

doi:10.1093/gerona/gls154

Cited by 53 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…Previous studies are inconclusive about sex differences; some found a higher risk in women (Bastiaens et al, 2004) and others in men (Suppa et al, 2011). Although we cannot rule out that our computer -aided phenotyping method used here was biased for pigmented spot detection in female compared to male skin, the same sex difference was also present in the LLS expert grading data which was manually graded by experts (Gunn et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

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A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies the Skin Color Genes IRF4, MC1R, ASIP, and BNC2 Influencing Facial Pigmented Spots

Jacobs

Hamer

Gunn

et al. 2015

Journal of Investigative Dermatology

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119

148

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Facial pigmented spots are a common skin aging feature, but genetic predisposition has yet to be thoroughly investigated. We conducted a genome-wide association study for pigmented spots in 2,844 Dutch Europeans from the Rotterdam Study (mean age: 66.9±8.0 years; 47% male). Using semi-automated image analysis of high-resolution digital facial photographs, facial pigmented spots were quantified as the percentage of affected skin area (mean women: 2.0% ±0.9, men: 0.9% ±0.6). We identified genome-wide significant association with pigmented spots at three genetic loci: IRF4 (rs12203592, P=1.8 × 10(-27)), MC1R (compound heterozygosity score, P=2.3 × 10(-24)), and RALY/ASIP (rs6059655, P=1.9 × 10(-9)). In addition, after adjustment for the other three top-associated loci the BNC2 locus demonstrated significant association (rs62543565, P=2.3 × 10(-8)). The association signals observed at all four loci were successfully replicated (P<0.05) in an independent Dutch cohort (Leiden Longevity Study n=599). Although the four genes have previously been associated with skin color variation and skin cancer risk, all association signals remained highly significant (P<2 × 10(-8)) when conditioning the association analyses on skin color. We conclude that genetic variations in IRF4, MC1R, RALY/ASIP, and BNC2 contribute to the acquired amount of facial pigmented spots during aging, through pathways independent of the basal melanin production.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Grading was performed independently by two skin aging experts using frontal digital photographs, as described previously (Gunn et al, 2013;Gunn et al, 2009).…”

Section: Phenotypingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies the Skin Color Genes IRF4, MC1R, ASIP, and BNC2 Influencing Facial Pigmented Spots

Jacobs

Hamer

Gunn

et al. 2015

Journal of Investigative Dermatology

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119

148

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“…Presence of ≥1 of these visible age-related signs have been associated with increased risk of ischemic cardiovascular disease in most [6][7][8][9][10][11] but not all studies. 12,13 In contrast, male pattern baldness, grey hair, and facial wrinkles did not associate with death. [14][15][16] Earlobe crease, xanthelasmata, and arcus corneae are appearance factors, which like the common age-related signs occur more frequently with increasing age.…”

Section: Clinical Perspective On P 998mentioning

confidence: 83%

Visible Age-Related Signs and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease in the General Population

et al. 2014

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Background-Cardiovascular disease is 1 of the most common age-related diseases, and also 1 of the most common causes of death in the general population. We tested the hypothesis that visible age-related signs associate with risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), and death in the general population, independent of chronological age. Methods and Results-10,885 individuals aged 20 to 93 years free of IHD were followed from 1976 through 1978 until June 2011 with 100% complete follow-up. During these 35 years of follow-up, 3401 participants developed IHD and 1708 developed MI. Presence of frontoparietal baldness, crown top baldness, earlobe crease, and xanthelasmata was associated with increased risk of IHD or MI after multifactorial adjustment for chronological age and well-known cardiovascular risk factors. The risk of IHD and MI increased stepwise with increasing number of age-related signs with multifactorially adjusted hazard ratios up to 1.40 (95% confidence interval, 1.20-1.62) for IHD and 1.57 (1.28-1.93) for MI, in individuals with 3 to 4 versus no age-related signs at baseline (P for trend <0.001). In all age groups in both women and men, absolute 10-year risk of IHD and MI increased with increasing number of visible age-related signs. Conclusions-Male pattern baldness, earlobe crease, and xanthelasmata-alone or in combination-associate with increased risk of ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction independent of chronological age and other wellknown cardiovascular risk factors. This is the first prospective study to show that looking old for your age is a marker of poor cardiovascular health. (Circulation. 2014;129:990-998.)

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“…The tendency for OA to associate higher babyfaceness with greater competence and to show a stronger tendency than YA to associate it with greater health suggests that OA are more attuned to the positive implications of a more youthful appearance for health and competence in older individuals. Indeed, there is evidence that people who look younger for their age are healthier (Gunn et al, 2013). Although the null effect for YA is inconsistent with some research documenting a negative relationship between babyfaceness and YA competence ratings (Olivola &Todorov, 2010), most research on the babyface stereotype has documented a positive relationship between babyfaceness and YA ratings of n aiv ete (see Montepare & Zebrowitz, 1998, for a comprehensive review).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Attractiveness Halo Effect and the Babyface Stereotype in Older and Younger Adults: Similarities, Own-Age Accentuation, and Older Adult Positivity Effects

Zebrowitz

Franklin

2014

Experimental Aging Research

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Background Two well-documented phenomena in person perception are the attractiveness halo effect (more positive impressions of more attractive people), and the babyface stereotype (more childlike impressions of more babyfaced people), shown by children, young adults (YA) and people from diverse cultures. This is the first study to systematically investigate these face stereotypes in older adults (OA) and to compare effects for younger and older adult faces. Method YA and OA judges rated competence, health, hostility, untrustworthiness, attractiveness, and babyfaceness of older and younger neutral expression faces. Multilevel modeling assessed effects of rater age and face age on appearance stereotypes. Results Like YA, OA showed both the attractiveness halo effect and the babyface stereotype. However, OA showed weaker effects of attractiveness on impressions of untrustworthiness, and only OA associated higher babyfaceness with greater competence. There also was own-age accentuation, with both OA and YA showing stronger face stereotypes for faces closer to their own age. Age differences in the strength of the stereotypes reflected an OA positivity effect shown in more influence of positive facial qualities on impressions or less influence of negative ones, rather than vice versa. Conclusions OA own-age biases, previously shown in emotion, age, and identity recognition, and OA positivity effects, previously revealed in attention, memory, and social judgments, also influence age differences in the strength and content of appearance stereotypes. Future research should assess implications of these results for age-related differences in susceptibility to appearance biases that YA have shown in socially significant domains, such as judicial and personnel decisions.

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Facial Appearance Reflects Human Familial Longevity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Healthy Individuals

Abstract: Facial appearance and skin wrinkling at a sun-protected site reflect the propensity to reach an extreme old age, and facial appearance reflects the risk of succumbing to CVD independently of chronological age, smoking, photodamage, and BMI.

Cited by 53 publications

References 34 publications

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies the Skin Color Genes IRF4, MC1R, ASIP, and BNC2 Influencing Facial Pigmented Spots

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies the Skin Color Genes IRF4, MC1R, ASIP, and BNC2 Influencing Facial Pigmented Spots

Visible Age-Related Signs and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease in the General Population

The Attractiveness Halo Effect and the Babyface Stereotype in Older and Younger Adults: Similarities, Own-Age Accentuation, and Older Adult Positivity Effects

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