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Looking Old Could Be Another Predictor For Heart Disease! In additional to a list of traditional risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity, looking old could as well be added to the list. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark reported that people who look older, for instance, with hair loss and fatty deposits around the eyes, have a higher risk of getting heart disease than those of the same age who look younger. At an annual conference held by the American Heart Association (AHA) on November 6, 2012 in Los Angeles, they stated that the visible signs of ageing reflect physiologic or biological age, and are independent of chronological age. Chronological age is the age of a person as measured from birth to a given date. In contrast, biological age is the active rate at which the body is ageing. It is the true measurement of a person’s health, life expectancy and future quality of life. 6 physical features associated with ageing were identified in the study: baldness at the head’s crown, receding hairline at the temples, earlobe creases, yellow fatty deposits around the eyelid (xanthelasmata), gray hair and wrinkles. According to researchers, the latter 2 signs did not appear to be associated with higher risk of heart disease.
Data was drawn from the Copenhagen Heart Study, consisting a total of 10,885 patients (5,828 men and 5,057 women) aged 45 and older. Study began in 1976 when participants’ appearance, wrinkles and other signs of ageing were documented. Among the participants, 7,537 patients had a receding hairline at the temples, 3,938 had baldness at the crown of the head, 3,405 had earlobe creases and 678 had yellow fatty deposits around the eyelids (xanthelasmata). During the follow-up period of 35 years, 3,401 of the participants developed heart disease and 1,708 had a heart attack. Those who had at least 3 ageing signs had a 57 percent increased risk of heart attack and a 39 percent increased risk for heart disease. The 4 ageing signs predicted heart attack and heart disease independent of traditional risk factors. The risk of having a heart attack and developing heart disease increased with each additional sign of ageing among both men and women. ‘Fatty deposits around the eye’ was found to be the strongest individual predictor of both heart attack and heart disease. Highest risks were found among those men aged between 70 and 79. 45 percent of them who had all 4 ageing signs got heart disease, compared with 31 percent of those with none of the 4 ageing signs. While hair loss in women was not linked to a higher risk of heart disease, 82 of the 737 men with a receding hairline suffered a heart attack. This means that there was a 40 percent higher risk in men with hair loss than those without. In fact, conflicting results have been shown by previous study in linking hair loss to heart disease risk. Some studies have found the association between severity and type of baldness and risk of heart disease or heart attack, but others have found none. The risk of both heart disease and baldness rise with age, so it is rather difficult for scientists to separate them in studies. Based on the new findings, it is essential for clinicians to perform a good physical examination on their patients by checking these ageing signs to ascertain whether they look older or younger at their age. Meanwhile, they should continue to monitor standard testing for heart disease risk such as measuring cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose for diabetes. The exact reason for the links between these ageing signs and heart disease risk remains unclear. Hence, more research is needed to find out why these varying factors would be associated with increased risk for heart disease.
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