Perceived facial age and biochemical indicators of glycemia in adult men and women

Abstract

Glycemia is linked with one of the key mechanisms underlying the aging process and inter-individual differences in biological age. Previous research showed that glucose level is linked with perceived age in elder individuals. This study aimed to verify if glycemia is related to perceived facial age in healthy adult individuals as interventions in younger and healthy cohorts are crucial for preventing the onset of age-related diseases. The study sample consisted of 116 healthy men of mean age 35.53 ± 3.54 years (29.95-44.29) and 163 healthy women of mean age 28.38 ± 2.40 (24.25-34.17) years. Glycemia was evaluated by fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, and glycated hemoglobin level. BMI, facial sexual dimorphism, estradiol, testosterone, and hsCRP levels were controlled. Perceived age was evaluated based on standardized facial photos in an online survey. Additionally perceived facial aging was calculated as a difference between perceived age and chronological age. No relationship between the levels of biochemical indicators of glycemia and perceived facial age or aging was found both in men and women, also when controlled for possible confounders. This study shows that perceived facial age in adult individuals is rather linked with body adiposity of sexual dimorphism but not with glycemic markers.