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Do you look old for your age? You may be at increased risk of heart disease.
By Joseph Brownstein
MyHealthNewsDaily
A bald patch on the top of your head or a small vertical crease in your earlobe may seem like relatively harmless signs of aging, but a new study says signs like these may signal an increased risk of heart disease.
Danish researchers found that people were 39 percent more likely to have heart disease, and 57 percent more likely to have a heart attack, if they had at least three of these four signs: baldness on top of the head, receded hairline, a crease in the earlobe, and fatty deposits on the eyelids known as xanthelasmata.
The researchers accounted for people's ages in their results.
Therefore, the study shows "looking old for your age, by [having] these aging signs, marks poor cardiovascular health," said study researcher Dr. Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, a professor and chief physician in the department of clinical biochemistry at Copenhagen University Hospital.
While the exact reason for the links between these signs and heart disease risk remains unclear, the study "validates the common clinical practice that the clinician examines the patient, and often looks at whether a person looks older or younger for her age," Tybjaerg-Hansen said.
The researchers used data from the Copenhagen Heart Study, which included10,885 people who were over the age of 40. Over the 35-year study, 3,401 participants developed heart disease, and 1,708 had a heart attack. Researchers examined six physical features associated with aging, but found that two — gray hair and wrinkles — did not appear to be linked with increased risk of heart problems.
The study included 5,828 men and 5,057 women. When the researchers considered the genders separately, they found that hair loss in women was not linked with an increased risk of heart disease. However, among the 737 men who had a receding hairline, 82 suffered a heart attack, meaning there a 40 percent higher risk in men with hair loss than those without.
Previous research has looked at whether hair loss may be a warning sign of heart disease, but results have been conflicting. Some studies have linked the severity and type of baldness with the risks of heart disease or heart attacks to varying degrees, but others have found no connection. Because the risk of both heart disease and baldness rise with age, it can be difficult for researchers to separate the two in studies.
Tybjaerg-Hansen said the four signs identified in the new study should give clinicians greater incentive to treat patients who have them. "The suggestion is that lifestyle changes and lipid-lowering therapies should be intensified, because their risk is higher," she said.
However, the area needs more research, because "it would be nice to know why these [varying factors] would be associated with increased risk," she said.
Tybjaerg-Hansen said, for example, that hair loss is linked with levels of testosterone in the blood, so the new study suggests the hormone also plays a role in heart disease, but there's "no hard data there at all, [it's] only speculative."
She said the group for whom the new results would raise the greatest concern is men between ages 70 and 79. In this group, 45 percent of those with all four aging signs developed heart disease, versus 31 percent of those with none of the four.
"This study underscores the importance of doing a good physical exam, in addition to any testing we're going to do for risk for heart disease," said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, director of the NYU Center for Women's Health and American Heart Association spokesperson, in a statement in response to the study.
While the researchers adjusted their results to account for other risk factors for heart disease, Goldberg noted that, for example, xanthelasmata is a sign of high cholesterol levels, a traditional risk factor for heart disease.
Goldberg concluded that while the length of the study made the results compelling, doctors "need to continue to monitor our standard testing for heart disease risk, such as measuring cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose for diabetes."
The researchers are presenting their findings today (Nov. 6) at an American Heart Association research conference. The findings have not been published in a scientific journal.
More from MHND:
- Beyond Vegetables and Exercise: 5 Surprising Ways to Be Heart Healthy
- The Truth About Anti-Aging Products
- 5 Key Nutrients Women Need As They Age
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Leave a Comment:
After 35 years of research and over 10,000 people involved in the study, I think there is definitely some validity to the results found and ongoing research should continue to actually determine cause and effect connections. I have heard of the crease in the earlobe connection / indicator of possible heart disease before but I also think, without a doubt , a persons eating habits ( diet ) play a MAJOR ROLE in any persons overall health condition -- IE: eating an excessive amount of highly processed foods or fried foods will take its toll on the body, though these foods can be very tasty --- abstinence or moderation is key concern for someone concerned with maintaining good health overall.
this info is not new. I been knowing this since the 80s. Guess there aint much to report on with the election and a nor easter and all....
I was irritated when one of my doctors wrote, "Looks older than stated age" in my medical record, so I asked him about it. He said that it wasn't a comment about my attractiveness or a criticism of something I should change; rather, it was an important health marker reflecting my many years with a chronic illness.
You can do everything right - diet, exercise, medically -- but insidious diseases can sap the youth out of your looks despite trendy attire and fashionable hair/make-up, etc. Ask your doctor how he compares you to others in your same age range and what you should be doing to improve.
Another nbcnews.com article full of BS
The headline makes you believe that the key to knowing that you have bad heart health has been discovered.Then the article states that more studies need to be done.I guess that the writer doesn't know that in that in Journalism 101 the headline should be attention getting but should match the facts of the article.
I had a heart attack and bypass surgery in May. I have a newsflash for you, these are what are signals of a heart attack:
1. No exercise
2. A fatty diet with lots of carbs and no leafy green vegetables
3. Lots of sugary drinks
4. being overweight
I had all four. For a large percentage of people that have heart disease the signals are there and they reflect behavior. I had many symptoms and warnings I was just too stubborn or stupid to recognise them. I am in no way a person to model but I have changed my diet, get exercise every day, cut out the sugar and fat and lowered my carbs. I feel better and as a side benefit I've lost 100 pounds.
Put simply, live a sedentary live and eat a bad diet and you WILL end up like me. I don't need a study to tell me that!
@Wilhelm --- Thanks for an honest and sensible response, and continued success with your new lifestyle.
Do you look old for you age? How does one answer that question about themselves?
A crease in the earlobe could just be the result of many years wearing heavy earrings, and I see thousands of people with receding hairlines and bald patches on the tops of their heads.
I agree with Lukebear. This is just a bunch of BS!
And I see thousands of people with heart disease...
I wonder how many of the people in the study who developed heart disease smoked cigarettes, I guess one could say take this study as interesting observation and don't take it as conclusive evidence of cause and effect because indeed there are many,many things in one's lifestyle choices that can be bad for your health.A person could actually be in good overall health but if they are under too much stress it will age you quickly and stress does KILL. People who excessively sun tan rapidly age themselves at least in appearance, all in all I suppose we pick our own destiny ( to some degree ) with our chosen lifestyle but if we can become aware of known dangers to our health we MIGHT be able to live a longer , healthier life. A friend once told me long ago we all enter this world wearing diapers , no teeth ,and no hair and most leave the world in much the same way in which we entered it, so live the life that makes you happy.
Ed:
You got it!
As some great artists once said: "You can't always get want you want....but sometimes you get what you need".
My heart will do much better... now that Barack Obama has won re-election.
No more tea billy toxic GOP!!!
FORWARD!!!
Forward into the abyss.
It's a valid study, but just looking older or younger than your age has many factors not mentioned in this study: smoking or exposure to cigarette smoke. Stress--especially if you are nearing retirement, lost your job, had a cut in benefits, and/or see your retirement savings lose considerably. Lots of sun exposure, especially if you are fair-skinned can lead to wrinkles and faster development of age spots at the least and cancer at worst. Genetics--hair loss or growing gray before mid 30's I don't think signals a heart attack in one's near future. More studies need to be done on individual DNA and lifestyle combined.
I do think our rush, rush lifestyle here in the U.S has a great deal to do with premature aging. For instance the French and Italians, don't have a no alcohol(French) or low-carb diet(Italians), but they take the time to savor what they eat and drink, not eating on the run or at their workdesk ( and possibly their workday is less hectic than the average U.S. worker). There has to be a middle-ground between the cradle to grave social safety net that is falling apart and the rush rush productivity driven lifestyle in the U.S and growing in countries, like China where European and U.S. jobs have been offshored to.
What a bunch of crap! I've had those vertical lines on my earlobes since I was 30 and for the next 25 years ran 40 miles a week.If not for major back surgery,I would still be running.I'm 65 now and feel fine.I think you are what you eat.Go ahead and call me a pussy,I dont care!
Guess this means the left will want the "rich" to pay for Propecia and Rogaine for those who cannot afford it.
At age 47, I had a heart attack and only exhibited one of those characteristics; the crease in an earlobe - my hairline wasn't receding nor did I even have a bald spot on the top of my head (10 years later, I'm sad to say, I've been told I am getting thinner up top, but not a lot), and as of yet, non of the "fat deposits" on my eyelids.
By the way, my blood pressure averages around 106 over 70 and my cholesterol has also always been low.
In other words, just looking at the base stats, I shouldn't have been placed in the "high risk" category, yet I had the heart attack at the early age. One factor I didn't mention was heredity - my Dad had major heart disease most of his adult life (he was diagnosed at age 55, but died last February at age 87).
So at the end of the day, it's great to look at the signs that are listed, but if you have a history of heart problems in your family, that's another large factor to take into account, even if nothing else rears its ugly head...