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Perceived age is associated with bone status in women aged 25–93 years

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Abstract

Higher perceived age (PA) is reported to be associated with age-related diseases. Because osteoporosis is considered an age-related disease, we hypothesized that age perceived from photographs is associated with bone mineral density (BMD)/trabecular bone score (TBS) when controlled for chronological age. This is a cross-sectional study of 460 women aged 25–93 years. BMD/TBS was measured. Twenty physicians assessed age from facial and whole-body photographs. Residual PA (RPACA) was calculated from the regression of PA on chronological age. Participants were divided into “looking old” (LO) or “looking young” (LY). Linear mixed models and general linear models fitted with BMD/TBS as outcome and either RPACA or LO/LY as an independent variable, considering chronological age. Estimates of RPACA were all negative; i.e., an increase in RPAC is associated with lower BMD, consistent with the hypothesis (e.g., β −0.29 %; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.55, 0.03). Statistical significance of the association of age-adjusted facial RPACA with BMD was found. Adjusted for body mass index (BMI), menopause, and hormone replacement therapy, higher RPACA from all photographic presentations were significantly associated with lower BMD based on statistical significance. BMD/TBS was in all analyses higher in the group LY compared with LO, when adjusted for age and BMI (e.g., β 4.37 %; 95 CI 0.62, 8.26), but statistical significance was obtained only from the BMD analyses. A higher PA was significantly associated with a lower BMD/TBD, and the size of association in older women indicates that it might have value as part of the clinical assessment of osteoporotic risk.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all age assessors and participants who took part in this study. Furthermore, the authors thank Anne-Sophie Schwarz, student assistant, for the data entry and Julie Lyng Forman, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, Department of Public Health, Statistics section, for the statistical assistance.

Author contributions

Study design: PS, BRN, and KC; study conduct: BRN and PS; data collection: BRN; data analysis: BRN; data interpretation: BRN, PS, KC, and AL; drafting manuscript: BRN; revising manuscript content: BRN, AL, KC, and PS; and approving final version of manuscript: BRN, AL, KC, and PS. BRN takes responsibility for the integrity of the data analysis.

Grant supporters

This study was financially supported by the Lundbeck Foundation (donation of DXA scanner R7-A608-B486).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Centre of Ageing and Osteoporosis, Departments of Endocrinology PE and Clinical Biochemistry, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej and Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Barbara Rubek Nielsen & Peter Schwarz

  2. Department of Medicine, Geriatrics, Amager and Hvidovre Hospital Glostrup, Ndr. Ringvej 69 (North), 2600, Glostrup, Denmark

    Barbara Rubek Nielsen

  3. Research Centre for Prevention and Health, the Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Allan Linneberg

  4. Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark

    Allan Linneberg

  5. Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Allan Linneberg & Peter Schwarz

  6. Danish Research Centre of Ageing, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Kaare Christensen

  7. Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

    Kaare Christensen

  8. Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

    Kaare Christensen

Authors
  1. Barbara Rubek Nielsen
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  2. Allan Linneberg
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  3. Kaare Christensen
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  4. Peter Schwarz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara Rubek Nielsen.

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Nielsen, B.R., Linneberg, A., Christensen, K. et al. Perceived age is associated with bone status in women aged 25–93 years. AGE 37, 106 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-015-9842-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-015-9842-5

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