title: Diagonal ear-lobe crease: possible significance as cardio-vascular risk factor and its relationship to ear-acupuncture.
abstract: The diagonal ear-lobe crease, detectable especially after the age of 40, is still accepted as a sign of coronary heart disease risk. In the literature some authors report an association between anxiety and coronary heart disease. In our work a group of 143 patients with ear-lobe crease showed - in both sexes and in all examined decades (5th, 6th, 7th) - higher levels of anxiety than in the control group. The possible significance of the crease has been considered on the grounds of present knowledge of ear-acupuncture and the somatotopic mapping of CNS on the ear-lobe.
authors.affiliation: S.I.R.A.A. - Societa Italiana di Riflessoterapia, Agopuntura, Auricoloterapia, Prato, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romoli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tordini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giommi
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D004431:Ear, External / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors