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. 2023 Jan 17;13(2):256.
doi: 10.3390/life13020256.

The Association between the Level of Advanced Glycation End Products and Objective Skin Quality Parameters

Dinko Martinovic  1 , Daria Tokic  2 , Mislav Usljebrka  1 , Slaven Lupi-Ferandin  1 , Livia Cigic  1 , Lucija Vanjaka Rogosic  3   4 , Sasa Ercegovic  1 , Mirko Kontic  5 , Marko Kumrić  6 , Doris Rusic  7 , Marino Vilovic  7 , Mateo Leskur  6 , Josko Bozic  6
Affiliations

The Association between the Level of Advanced Glycation End Products and Objective Skin Quality Parameters

Dinko Martinovic et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) represent an endogenously produced or exogenously derived group of compounds derived from nonenzymatic glycation. Recent experimental studies are suggesting that AGEs could play an important role in the skin's quality and its aging process. Hence, the aim of this study was to clinically evaluate the AGEs and skin quality parameters across different age groups in the general population. The study included 237 participants. Melanin, erythema, hydration, friction and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were evaluated using noninvasive probes, while AGEs were evaluated using a skin autofluorescence reader. There was a significant positive correlation between AGEs and the amount of melanin (p < 0.001), erythema (p < 0.001) and TEWL (p < 0.001), while there was a significant negative correlation between AGEs and hydration (p < 0.001) and friction (p < 0.001). After dividing the sample into three groups depending on their age, in all three groups, there was a significant positive correlation between AGEs and the melanin count (p < 0.001) and TEWL (p < 0.001), while there was a significant negative correlation between AGEs and skin hydration (p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the level of AGEs as a dependent variable retained a significant association with age (p < 0.001), melanin (p < 0.001), erythema (p = 0.005) and TEWL (p < 0.001) as positive predictors. Moreover, AGEs retained a significant association with skin hydration (p < 0.001) and friction (p = 0.017) as negative predictors. These outcomes imply that AGEs could be linked with the complex physiology of the skin and its aging process.

Keywords: Melanin; TEWL; advanced glycation end products; physiology; skin; skin barrier.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histogram showing the distribution of AGEs in the study sample (N = 237). Abbreviations: AGEs—advanced glycation end products.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of AGEs values between the younger age group (<33 years; N = 80), the middle age group (33–56 years; N = 80) and the older age group (>56 years; N = 77). Abbreviations: AGEs—advanced glycation end products. * Kruskal–Wallis test with post hoc Dunn’s test. p < 0.05—a vs. b; a vs. c; b vs. c.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlation between AGEs and TEWL in (A) the younger age group (<33 years; N = 80), (B) the middle age group (33–56 years; N = 80), (C) the older age group (>56 years; N = 77) and (D) the whole study sample (N = 237). Abbreviations: AGEs—advanced glycation end products; TEWL—transepidermal water loss. * Spearman’s correlation.
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