Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Purba, M. B.
Right arrow Articles by Wahlqvist, M. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Purba, M. B.
Right arrow Articles by Wahlqvist, M. L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Age and Ageing 2001; 30: 227-234
© 2001, British Geriatrics Society

Research papers

Can skin wrinkling in a site that has received limited sun exposure be used as a marker of health status and biological age?

Martalena B. Purba, Antigone Kouris-Blazos, Naiyana Wattanapenpaiboon, Widjaja Lukito1, Elisabeth Rothenberg2, Bertil Steen2 and Mark L. Wahlqvist

International Health and Development Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Asia Pacific Health and Nutrition Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1 SEAMEO–TROPMED Regional Center for Community Nutrition, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
2 Department of Geriatric Medicine, Vasa Hospital, Goteborg University, Sweden

Abstract

Objectives: to determine if skin wrinkling in a site that had received limited sun exposure may be a marker of health status and biological age.

Design: population-based, cross-sectional study.

Participants: we evaluated the health status of representative samples of elderly Greek-born people living in Melbourne, Greeks living in rural Greece, Anglo-Celtic Australians living in Melbourne and Swedes living in Sweden. We carried out microtopographic assessment of their skin and measured plasma dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations.

Methods: we derived activities of daily living, well-being, memory and general health status scores from a cross-cultural questionnaire. We measured skin wrinkling using cutaneous microtopographic methods and plasma dehydroepiandrosterone by enzyme immuno-assay.

Results: skin wrinkling was positively correlated with age (rs=0.27, P<0.0001) and negatively with body mass index (rs=-0.19, P<0.0001). Therefore, all analyses were controlled for these variables. Plasma dehydroepiandrosterone was higher in smokers than non-smokers (2.86 vs 2.08; P<0.001) and men had significantly higher plasma dehydroepiandrosterone than women (2.74 vs 1.69; P<0.0001). In the pooled data, skin wrinkling was negatively associated with general health score (rs=-0.13, P<0.01) and activities of daily living score (rs=-0.14, P<0.05) after controlling for age, body mass index and smoking. These associations were more pronounced in women. Finally, those with the least skin wrinkling had the highest dehydroepiandrosterone level (rs=-0.12, P=0.06) after adjusting for age, smoking and sex.

Conclusion: skin wrinkling in a site with limited sun exposure might be used as a marker of health status and, to some extent, biological age—particularly for women.

Keywords: activities of daily living, biological age, cutaneous microtopography, dehydroepiandrosterone, elderly, general health status, memory, skin wrinkling, well-being


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Clin. Nutr.Home page
M. C Cosgrove, O. H Franco, S. P Granger, P. G Murray, and A. E Mayes
Dietary nutrient intakes and skin-aging appearance among middle-aged American women
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, October 1, 2007; 86(4): 1225 - 1231.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch DermatolHome page
C. Guinot, D. J.-M. Malvy, L. Ambroisine, J. Latreille, E. Mauger, M. Tenenhaus, F. Morizot, S. Lopez, I. Le Fur, and E. Tschachler
Relative Contribution of Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Factors to Skin Aging as Determined by a Validated Skin Age Score
Arch Dermatol, November 1, 2002; 138(11): 1454 - 1460.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.