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Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

bbc.com

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Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#51

Post by htss2013 »

xyzzy4747 wrote: post #33

What about this? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/ >Results: Women with active sun exposure habits were mainly at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and noncancer/non-CVD death as compared to those who avoided sun exposure. As a result of their increased survival, the relative contribution of cancer death increased in these women. Nonsmokers who avoided sun exposure had a life expectancy similar to…

It's amazing that people take hopelessly confounded studies like this and infer anything from them.

Yes the study says they tried to remove confounders. But if people could effectively remove confounders, there'd be no need for randomized trials (which are enormously expensive). Despite doing everything possible, scientists' best efforts to remove confounders still don't effectively substitute for actual randomization.

This study is from 1990-1992. Even with all the sophisticated software today, we still cannot remove confounders, so how bad was it in 1992?

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#52

Post by anonuser123456 »

xyzzy4747 wrote: post #33

What about this? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/ >Results: Women with active sun exposure habits were mainly at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and noncancer/non-CVD death as compared to those who avoided sun exposure. As a result of their increased survival, the relative contribution of cancer death increased in these women. Nonsmokers who avoided sun exposure had a life expectancy similar to…

Thanks for posting this. I’ve heard of this study but have never read it.

Having read it, what a dumpster fire of un-controlled healthy-user bias.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#53

Post by gumby »

refurb wrote: post #50
gumby wrote: post #28

The photo at the top is most likely a smoker. Increased CO in your bloodstream, and the effect of nicotine, seems to kill capillary circulation in the skin (and likely elsewhere, including the brain, kidneys). One reason folks in their 40s-60s today look so much younger than people the same age from the 80s and before is likely from the reduced prevalence of smoking. And the article mentions diabetes...which also dam…

And the article mentions diabetes...which also damages the microvascularization though not to the same extent. That claim isn’t backed by empirical evidence. It’s very common for diabetics to have chronic skin ulcers and amputations, but smokers do not.

I guess I wasn't clear:

1 - Paper mentioned smoking and diabetes (the latter surprised me, though I hadn't thought of your example which is a good one).

2 - smoking increases CO to bloodstream, and nicotine. The latter stiffens the vascular system; the CO doesn't just damage it but is believed to damage the small muscles of the skin, leading to the pervasive and fine grained wrinkling.

3 - Acute diabetes also damages the microvasculature (stiffining and blocking) which leads to various problems like PAD; that diminished circulation makes the immune system less efficacious, so for example people get difficult to heal lesions and such that can lead to amputation.

My point in that regard was "huh, I can imagine that you could see signs of diabetes for similar reasons", though TBH by the time an ulcer shows up you probably have noticed other signs. But perhaps there are earlier traces for the non observant.

I wasn't claiming that diabetics and smokers would have the same external symptoms. I'm a diabetic nonsmoker myself, and largely wrinkle-free :-)

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#54

Post by smolder »

cstejerean wrote: post #44
symbolicAGI wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easiest way to guess a person's age is by the relative size of the ears, that never stop growing. Tiny ears - teenager. Huge ears - senior. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18653105/

The linked study doesn't seem to support that "ears never stop growing" at least in the typical way one would read that sentence. > This study supports the view that as people age, their ears get larger, particularly the ear circumference, which increases on average 0.51 mm per year. This enlargement is likely associated with aging changes of collagen So they do get larger with age but not due to growing, but rather…

Do your ears hang low?

Do they wobble to and fro?

Can you tie them in a knot?

Can you tie them in a bow?

Can you throw them over your shoulder like a continental soldier?

Do your ears hang low?

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#55

Post by femto »

michael1999 wrote: post #2

I wonder how much of the value of moisturizing is from massaging the tissue and working waste into the lymphatic or circulatory systems for disposal.

You could test this by comparing people who wet shave daily with those who don't. Lathering on the skin during wet shaving delivers an incidental massage.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#56

Post by nojs »

meristohm wrote: post #6

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

Ha, but have you seen the skin of Wim Hof? I love the guy but I wouldn’t say his face is particularly youthful

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#57

Post by [deleted] »

xyzzy4747 wrote: post #33

What about this? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/ >Results: Women with active sun exposure habits were mainly at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and noncancer/non-CVD death as compared to those who avoided sun exposure. As a result of their increased survival, the relative contribution of cancer death increased in these women. Nonsmokers who avoided sun exposure had a life expectancy similar to…

[deleted]

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#58

Post by ambicapter »

nojs wrote: post #56
meristohm wrote: post #6

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

Ha, but have you seen the skin of Wim Hof? I love the guy but I wouldn’t say his face is particularly youthful

I mean, he's 64. No part of him is "youthful" except his attitude.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#59

Post by xattt »

vosper wrote: post #22
meristohm wrote: post #6

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

Did you consider a hot-then-cold shower? After listening to a Huberman Lab episode on deliberate cold exposure I've started doing 2-3 minutes of cold at the end of my hot shower. Obviously it doesn't save on energy, but I definitely get the "wide awake" feeling you describe. And I get to enjoy a nice hot shower, too :) Here's a write-up on deliberate cold exposure by Dr Huberman for anyone interested: https://huberma…

When I bathed as a kid, my parents would run the cold tap just before getting out and encouraged me to put my feet in it to boost my immune system.

I don’t think they were too serious about it, but it was fun to do.

Re: Skin health can be used to predict a number of seemingly unconnected factors

#60

Post by tharkun__ »

meristohm wrote: post #6

In late 2020 I committed to only taking cold showers. I note several upsides after nearly three years of this: - easier to forego caffeine, as cold water in the morning leaves me wide awake - easier to use less water, in part because it's so easy to get out of the shower into a warmer environment - mental health benefits, including increased confidence dealing with things I don't want to do but which are my adult dut…

I made the coconut oil mistake once. It's oil. Must be good, right? Especially the extra virgin, no?

It does not moisturize at all. It dries out the skin something fierce. If you also use olive oil you might just be masking the bad side of the coconut oil.

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