title: Epidemiologic analysis of change in eyelash characteristics with increasing age in a population of healthy women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Observations that eyelashes become thinner, shorter, and lighter, as women age has not been previously quantified.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to investigate associations between eyelash characteristics and age.
  
  
  METHODS
  The upper natural eyelashes of 179 subjects were photographed and analyzed (digital image analysis); length, thickness, and darkness (intensity: 0 = white and 255 = black) were calculated. Linear regression, including race as a potentially confounding factor, was used to assess the association between age and mean eyelash characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects' mean age was 40.3 (±10.3) years; 46.1% were white, 36.5% Asian, 9.0% Hispanic, 5.1% East Indian, and 3.4% black. Mean eyelash length ranged from 6.39 (±1.02) to 7.98 (±1.15) mm (subjects aged 50-65 years and 22-29 years, respectively). Mean thickness ranged from 1.17 (±0.42) to 1.62 (±0.56) mm (subjects aged 50-65 years and 20-29 years, respectively). Mean intensity ranged from 118.2 (±19.8) to 129.4 (±17.3) (subjects aged 30-39 years and 50-65 years, respectively). Adjusted for race, eyelash length, thickness, and darkness decreased significantly with increasing age (p < .000, p = .0090, and p < .05, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Advancing age among an ethnically diverse population of healthy women is associated with significant decreases in eyelash length, thickness, and darkness.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Dermatology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri; †Division of Dermatology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; ‡Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia; §Scientific Communications and Information, Parsippany, New Jersey; ‖Allergan, Inc., Irvine, California.
authors.forename: Dee A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Glaser
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carruthers
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campo
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moench
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tardie
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Largent
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caulkins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005140:Eyelashes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010781:Photography; D044469:Racial Groups; D012044:Regression Analysis