Researchers have found that the temperature of different parts of your face could signal rising blood pressure and other chronic illnesses.
For instance, having a colder nose and warmer cheeks might indicate high blood pressure.
These temperature differences are subtle and not noticeable by touch. Instead, they require special AI technology and thermal cameras to detect them.
This study, published on July 2 in the journal Cell Metabolism, suggests that doctors might one day use this non-invasive method for early disease detection.
Jing-Dong Jackie Han from Peking University in Beijing, who led the study, believes this tool could promote healthy aging and help people live without diseases.
The research team had previously used 3D facial structures to predict people’s biological age, which is an indicator of how well their bodies are aging. Biological age is closely linked to the risk of diseases like cancer and diabetes.
This made the researchers curious if other facial features, such as temperature, could also reveal a person’s aging rate and health status.
Han and her colleagues examined facial temperatures in over 2,800 Chinese participants aged between 21 and 88. They used this data to train AI models to predict a person’s “thermal age” based on the temperatures of specific facial regions, including the nose, eyes, and cheeks.
They found that the temperature of the nose tends to decrease faster with age than other parts of the face, meaning people with warmer noses generally have a younger thermal age. In contrast, temperatures around the eyes tend to increase with age.
Additionally, the study found that people with metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and fatty liver disease, experienced faster thermal aging.
These individuals had higher temperatures around their eyes compared to healthy individuals of the same age. Similarly, those with high blood pressure had warmer cheeks.
By analyzing blood samples, the researchers discovered that the increased temperatures around the eyes and cheeks were due to heightened cellular activities related to inflammation, such as DNA repair and infection fighting. These activities cause certain facial regions to warm up.
Han pointed out that their thermal clock method is strongly linked to metabolic diseases, something that previous facial imaging models could not predict accurately. Given this connection, the team tested whether exercise could affect thermal age.
They asked 23 participants to jump rope at least 800 times daily for two weeks. Surprisingly, these participants reduced their thermal age by five years in just two weeks.
Looking ahead, the team wants to explore if thermal facial imaging can predict other diseases, such as sleep disorders or cardiovascular problems.
Han hopes that this method could be used in clinical settings for early disease diagnosis and intervention. This innovative approach holds significant potential for improving healthcare and promoting longer, healthier lives.
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The research findings can be found in Cell Metabolism.
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