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Visible age-related signs and risk of ischemic heart disease in the general population: a prospective cohort study

Mette Christoffersen1, Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, Peter Schnohr

  • 1Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark (M.C., R.F.-S.,A.T.-H.); The Copenhagen City Heart Study, Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark (P.S., G.B.J., B.G.N., A.T.-H.); the Department of Cardiology, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark (G.B.J.); Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark (B.G.N.); and Copenhagen University Hospitals and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark (M.C., R.F.-S., P.S., G.B.J., B.G.N., A.T.-H.).

Circulation
|December 17, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Visible signs of aging, such as male pattern baldness and earlobe creases, are linked to a higher risk of heart disease and heart attack. These physical markers indicate poor cardiovascular health, independent of actual age.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Gerontology
  • Dermatology

Background:

  • Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and a common age-related illness.
  • Visible aging signs are often associated with chronological age but may also reflect biological aging.
  • The relationship between visible aging markers and cardiovascular disease risk requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that visible age-related signs are associated with the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), and death.
  • To determine if this association is independent of chronological age and other cardiovascular risk factors.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study followed 10,885 individuals aged 20-93, initially free of IHD, from 1976-1978 until June 2011.
  • Data on visible age-related signs including frontoparietal baldness, crown top baldness, earlobe crease, and xanthelasmata were collected.
  • Statistical analysis, including multifactorial adjustment for chronological age and cardiovascular risk factors, was performed.

Main Results:

  • During 35 years of follow-up, 3401 participants developed IHD and 1708 developed MI.
  • The presence of baldness, earlobe crease, and xanthelasmata was associated with an increased risk of IHD or MI.
  • A stepwise increase in IHD and MI risk was observed with a greater number of visible age-related signs, with hazard ratios up to 1.57 for MI in individuals with 3-4 signs.

Conclusions:

  • Male pattern baldness, earlobe crease, and xanthelasmata are associated with increased risk of IHD and MI, independent of chronological age.
  • These visible aging markers serve as indicators of cardiovascular health.
  • This study highlights that appearing older than one's chronological age may signify heightened cardiovascular risk.
Abstract

Keywords:
agingepidemiologymyocardial ischemia

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