Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia risk

Abstract Background Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia are all age-related conditions. However, the temporal relation between facial age and future risk of dementia was not systematically examined. Objectives To investigate the relationship between facial age (both subjective/perceived...

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Main Authors: Xinming Xu, Guliyeerke Jigeer, David Andrew Gunn, Yizhou Liu, Xinrui Chen, Yi Guo, Yaqi Li, Xuelan Gu, Yanyun Ma, Jiucun Wang, Sijia Wang, Liang Sun, Xu Lin, Xiang Gao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-024-01611-8
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author Xinming Xu
Guliyeerke Jigeer
David Andrew Gunn
Yizhou Liu
Xinrui Chen
Yi Guo
Yaqi Li
Xuelan Gu
Yanyun Ma
Jiucun Wang
Sijia Wang
Liang Sun
Xu Lin
Xiang Gao
author_facet Xinming Xu
Guliyeerke Jigeer
David Andrew Gunn
Yizhou Liu
Xinrui Chen
Yi Guo
Yaqi Li
Xuelan Gu
Yanyun Ma
Jiucun Wang
Sijia Wang
Liang Sun
Xu Lin
Xiang Gao
author_sort Xinming Xu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia are all age-related conditions. However, the temporal relation between facial age and future risk of dementia was not systematically examined. Objectives To investigate the relationship between facial age (both subjective/perceived and objective) and cognitive impairment and/or dementia risk. Methods The study included 195,329 participants (age ≥ 60 y) from the UK Biobank (UKB) with self-perceived facial age and 612 participants from the Nutrition and Health of Aging Population in China Project (NHAPC) study (age ≥ 56 y) with objective assessment of facial age. Cox proportional hazards model was used to prospectively examine the hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of self-perceived facial age and dementia risk in the UKB, adjusting for age, sex, education, APOE ε4 allele, and other potential confounders. Linear and logistic regressions were performed to examine the cross-sectional association between facial age (perceived and objective) and cognitive impairment in the UKB and NHAPC, with potential confounders adjusted. Results During a median follow-up of 12.3 years, 5659 dementia cases were identified in the UKB. The fully-adjusted HRs comparing high vs. low perceived facial age were 1.61 (95% CI, 1.33 ~ 1.96) for dementia (P-trend ≤ 0.001). Subjective facial age and cognitive impairment was also observed in the UKB. In the NHAPC, facial age, as assessed by three objective wrinkle parameters, was associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment (P-trend < 0.05). Specifically, the fully-adjusted OR for cognitive impairment comparing the highest versus the lowest quartiles of crow’s feet wrinkles number was 2.48 (95% CI, 1.06 ~ 5.78). Conclusions High facial age was associated with cognitive impairment, dementia and its subtypes after adjusting for conventional risk factors for dementia. Facial aging may be an indicator of cognitive decline and dementia risk in older adults, which can aid in the early diagnosis and management of age-related conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-bff3f612cf414abc9f874be68f99a0242025-08-20T02:49:56ZengBMCAlzheimer’s Research & Therapy1758-91932024-11-0116111010.1186/s13195-024-01611-8Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia riskXinming Xu0Guliyeerke Jigeer1David Andrew Gunn2Yizhou Liu3Xinrui Chen4Yi Guo5Yaqi Li6Xuelan Gu7Yanyun Ma8Jiucun Wang9Sijia Wang10Liang Sun11Xu Lin12Xiang Gao13Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan UniversityUnilever R&D Colworth Science PartState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences & Human Phenome Institute, Fudan UniversityState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences & Human Phenome Institute, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety and Collaborative Innovation Center of Social Risks Governance in Health, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan UniversityUnilever R&D ShanghaiUnilever R&D Colworth Science PartState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences & Human Phenome Institute, Fudan UniversityCAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan UniversityShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan UniversityAbstract Background Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia are all age-related conditions. However, the temporal relation between facial age and future risk of dementia was not systematically examined. Objectives To investigate the relationship between facial age (both subjective/perceived and objective) and cognitive impairment and/or dementia risk. Methods The study included 195,329 participants (age ≥ 60 y) from the UK Biobank (UKB) with self-perceived facial age and 612 participants from the Nutrition and Health of Aging Population in China Project (NHAPC) study (age ≥ 56 y) with objective assessment of facial age. Cox proportional hazards model was used to prospectively examine the hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of self-perceived facial age and dementia risk in the UKB, adjusting for age, sex, education, APOE ε4 allele, and other potential confounders. Linear and logistic regressions were performed to examine the cross-sectional association between facial age (perceived and objective) and cognitive impairment in the UKB and NHAPC, with potential confounders adjusted. Results During a median follow-up of 12.3 years, 5659 dementia cases were identified in the UKB. The fully-adjusted HRs comparing high vs. low perceived facial age were 1.61 (95% CI, 1.33 ~ 1.96) for dementia (P-trend ≤ 0.001). Subjective facial age and cognitive impairment was also observed in the UKB. In the NHAPC, facial age, as assessed by three objective wrinkle parameters, was associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment (P-trend < 0.05). Specifically, the fully-adjusted OR for cognitive impairment comparing the highest versus the lowest quartiles of crow’s feet wrinkles number was 2.48 (95% CI, 1.06 ~ 5.78). Conclusions High facial age was associated with cognitive impairment, dementia and its subtypes after adjusting for conventional risk factors for dementia. Facial aging may be an indicator of cognitive decline and dementia risk in older adults, which can aid in the early diagnosis and management of age-related conditions.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-024-01611-8Facial ageDementiaCognitive impairment
spellingShingle Xinming Xu
Guliyeerke Jigeer
David Andrew Gunn
Yizhou Liu
Xinrui Chen
Yi Guo
Yaqi Li
Xuelan Gu
Yanyun Ma
Jiucun Wang
Sijia Wang
Liang Sun
Xu Lin
Xiang Gao
Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia risk
Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy
Facial age
Dementia
Cognitive impairment
title Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia risk
title_full Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia risk
title_fullStr Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia risk
title_full_unstemmed Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia risk
title_short Facial aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia risk
title_sort facial aging cognitive impairment and dementia risk
topic Facial age
Dementia
Cognitive impairment
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-024-01611-8
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