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Looking older than
your age may not be a sign of poor health
Toronto, Ontario, November 5, 2010 – Even
though most adults want to avoid looking
older than their actual age, research led by
St. Michael's Hospital shows that looking
older does not necessarily point to poor
health. The study found that a person needed
to look at least 10 years older than their
actual age before assumptions about their
health could be made.
"Few people are aware that when physicians
describe their patients to other physicians,
they often include an assessment of whether
the patient looks older than his or her
actual age," says Dr. Stephen Hwang, a
research scientist at St. Michael's Hospital
and an associate professor at the University
of Toronto.
"This long standing medical practice assumes
that people who look older than their actual
age are likely to be in poor health, but our
study shows this isn't always true."
For patients, it means looking a few years
older than their age does not always
indicate poor health status.
The study found that when a physician rated
an individual as looking up to five years
older than their actual age, it had little
value in predicting whether or not the
person was in poor health.
However, when a physician thought that a
person looked 10 or more years older than
their actual age, 99 per cent of these
individuals had very poor physical or mental
health.
"Physicians have simply assumed that their
quick assessment of how old a person looks
has diagnostic value," explains Dr. Hwang.
"We were really surprised to find that
people have to look a decade older than
their actual age before it's a reliable sign
that they're in poor health. It was also
very interesting to discover that many
people who look their age are in poor
health. Doctors need to remember that even
if patients look their age, we shouldn't
assume that their health is fine."
The researchers studied 126 people between
the ages of 30 to 70 who were visiting a
doctor's office. Participants completed a
survey that accurately determined whether
they had poor physical or mental health.
Each person was photographed, and the
photographs were shown to 58 physicians who
were told each person's actual age and asked
to rate how old the person looked.
The study, published in the Journal
of General Internal Medicine, provides
new insights and questions into the value
and limitations of a long standing medical
practice of judging a person's health by how
old they appear.
