A study has revealed that a key indicator of potential heart problems could be visible on the forehead. Researchers have suggested that individuals with more deep-set forehead wrinkles than is typical for their age may be at an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD).
While they acknowledged that forehead furrows are not a superior method of evaluating cardiovascular risk compared to existing methods such as blood pressure and lipid profiles, they could serve as an early warning sign that can be identified with a simple glance, without incurring any cost.
The research was presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Munich, Germany, in 2019.
Although the study did not establish a definitive reason for the link, it speculated that it could be related to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries due to plaque build-up.
Atherosclerosis is a significant contributor to heart attacks and other cardiovascular events, and changes in collagen protein and oxidative stress appear to play a role both in atherosclerosis and wrinkles.
Furthermore, the blood vessels in the forehead are so small that they may be more susceptible to plaque build-up, suggesting that wrinkles could be one of the early signs of vessel ageing.
The study analysed a group of 3,200 working adults who were all healthy and were aged 32, 42, 52 and 62 at the start.
They were examined by physicians who assigned scores based on the number and depth of wrinkles on their foreheads.
A score of zero indicated no wrinkles, while a score of three denoted “numerous deep wrinkles”. Researchers followed the subjects over two decades, during which 233 individuals passed away from various causes.
The breakdown revealed that 15.2% who died had wrinkle scores of two and three, 6.6% had score one, and just 2.1% had no wrinkles at all. The study discerned that individuals with a single wrinkle score faced a marginally increased risk of succumbing to heart disease compared to those without wrinkles.
Alarmingly, those with wrinkle scores of two or three were nearly ten times more at risk of death from such conditions than individuals with no wrinkles, even when accounting for factors like age, gender, education level, smoking habits, blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes, and lipid levels. Yolande Esquirol, the study’s lead author and associate professor of occupational health at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in France, remarked: “The higher your wrinkle score, the more your cardiovascular mortality risk increases.”
Noting the invisibility and intangibility of risk factors like high cholesterol and hypertension, she explained how forehead wrinkles could serve as a readily observable marker indicating heightened risk: “You can’t see or feel risk factors like high cholesterol or hypertension. We explored forehead wrinkles as a marker because it’s so simple and visual. Just looking at a person’s face could sound an alarm, then we could give advice to lower risk.”
Esquirol highlighted preventive advice potentially involving basic changes such as regular physical activity or improved diet.
While the risk of heart disease naturally escalates with age, timely lifestyle adjustments and medical strategies can substantially reduce the threat, provided that at-risk patients are identified early enough to effect change.
Dr Esquirol emphasised the importance of traditional health checks but also suggested a novel approach: “Of course, if you have a person with a potential cardiovascular risk, you have to check classical risk factors like blood pressure as well as lipid and blood glucose levels, but you could already share some recommendations on lifestyle factors.”
He added that while this is the first time a connection has been made between cardiovascular risk and forehead wrinkles, “This is the first time a link has been established between cardiovascular risk and forehead wrinkles so the findings do need to be confirmed in future studies, but the practice could be used now in physicians’ offices and clinics.”
Dr Esquirol reassured that this method is harmless and cost-free: “It doesn’t cost anything and there is no risk.”
He referenced past research which found certain ageing signs such as male-pattern baldness, earlobe creases, and xanthelasma could indicate heart disease, though not necessarily an increased mortality risk.