Development of a Global Subjective Skin Aging Assessment score from the perspective of dermatologists

Several skin aging assessment scales exist but no standard scale is widely used. Dermatologists may be the most appropriate persons for skin assessment but their perceptions regarding the signs of skin aging are unexplored. To develop a simple global skin aging assessment score from the perspective of dermatologists, an online questionnaire, the Thai Dermatologist Survey of Skin Aging Assessment, was conducted from October to December, 2016. Twenty-nine signs with published evidence of their relevancy to skin aging were included. Certified dermatologists were asked to score each sign using a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used for data analysis.

Of 213 randomly selected dermatologists, 145 responded to the survey. EFA revealed 3 important factors related to skin aging: Factor 1 comprised 8 signs related to atrophy (deep/superficial wrinkles, eye bags, lax appearance, etc.); Factor 2 comprised 7 signs related to discoloration (freckles, lentigines, melasma, etc.); and Factor 3 comprised 3 malignant skin lesions. The Global Subjective Skin Aging Assessment (GS2A2) score is a simple numerical score that can be used to evaluate the anti-aging effects of a cosmetic product or dermatologic intervention. This score should be tested further for validity and reliability.