Survey on skin aging status and related influential factors in Southeast China.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate cutaneous aging patterns of residents in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, and their contributing factors.


METHODS
Eight hundred and forty-eight Hangzhou residents received the survey between March 2004 and September 2004.


RESULTS
Facial wrinkling first occurred at 21 years of age and skin elasticity began to lose at 22 years of age. In middle-aged and old people, facial wrinkling and looseness escalated with the increase of ultraviolet (UV)-exposure time, indicating the accelerating effect of a higher accumulative dose of UV radiation on skin aging. Only Fitzpatrick types II, III and IV were found in the skin phototypes of residents in Hangzhou area, and Fitzpatrick type II seemed to be much more subject to severe wrinkling, elasticity destruction and skin tumors than types III and IV. The oily skin was more protected against wrinkling and facial looseness than dry skin. However, as to concomitant cutaneous diseases, no difference was found among different skin types.


CONCLUSIONS
Age, solar-exposure time, Fitzpatrick type and skin type are the associated forces in promoting skin aging, and emotional factor seems to be another independent risk factor. The age of 49 years and 2 h/d of solar-exposure time seem to be the turning points responsible for dramatic changes of cutaneous appearance in the process of skin aging in Southeast China.
Wang
Yi-na
YN
Department of Dermatology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Fang
Hong
H
Zhu
Wei-fang
WF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012867:Skin / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015595:Skin Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult