Ever wonder whether you are aging too fast for your chronological age? You're in luck because scientists have now found a way to accurately predict your biological age based solely on 3D scans of your wrinkles and other facial features.
In the study, Jing-Dong Han and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai used a special camera, the 3dMDface System, to take 3D facial scans of 332 Chinese people. The researchers also collected blood samples from the participants who were aged 17 to 77.
Using tens of thousands of 3D points in space that captured the intricate contours of the face, the system was able to assess each person's biological age - which reflects how well a person ages, not just chronological age.
The researchers found that in all cases, there were certain signposts of aging that remained constant: mouths become wider; noses get larger; the corner of the eyes droop; the distance between the nose and the mouth increases; the face becomes fuller with subcutaneous fat and the skin starts to sag.
Through the use of mathematical models that analyzed the 3D data, the researchers also found that the participants' biological age could be predicted within an average range of 6 years of the person's actual chronological age. So people who were aged 30 years old were predicted to be within the range of 24 to 36 years of age by the computer.
Additionally, it was found that blood sample markers such as levels of cholesterol, in women, and albumin, the main protein in human blood plasma, in men, matched the conclusions reached by the 3D scan analyses.
"I did not expect to see such remarkable changes with age, nor did I expect the 3D images to be such a good biomarker for biological age," Jing-Dong Han told the Guardian. "They turned out to be as accurate as the most accurate marker to date."
Although the group does not know whether the same facial features can predict aging so well in other ethnic groups, it says that the technique can be used to assess whether anti-aging treatments work. It can also be used by doctors to determine how well their patients are aging and if appropriate, provide personalized treatments and advice on possible lifestyle changes.
The group plans to conduct other studies with a variety of ethnicities, including Americans.
The study was published online on Tuesday in the Nature journal Cell Research.
