Your Face's Heat Patterns Can Reveal More Than You Can Imagine, Can Also Give Clues About Your Health

Add as a preferred source on Google

A quick facial scan might soon reveal how well you are aging and your risk of certain diseases. Chinese scientists discovered that comparing the heat from a person's nose, cheeks, and eye area could be an "ideal monitoring and screening tool for healthy aging."

What Is Thermal Imaging?

Thermal imaging, also known as thermography, captures the infrared radiation emitted by objects, translating it into visible images. When applied to the human face, thermography can detect temperature variations that may indicate underlying health issues. The face has a rich network of blood vessels and is highly sensitive to changes in blood flow and temperature, making it an ideal area for thermal analysis.

Researchers trained an AI program using facial temperature data from 2,811 Chinese participants aged 21 to 88. This AI identified several facial thermal patterns that could indicate a person's 'biological clock.' For example, the temperature of one's nose decreases with age faster than other facial regions, while the eye area's temperature tends to rise.

Facial Thermal Patterns And Health

The study found that individuals with warmer noses and cooler eye areas might have a slower-ticking facial thermal clock. The maximum facial temperature distribution between male and female participants of various ages was also examined (Yu et al., Cell Metabolism, 2024).

Interestingly, an individual's thermal profile was linked to lifestyle factors and metabolic health. Those with diabetes had a facial thermal profile more than six years older than their healthy peers of the same age. The machine learning model could predict metabolic disorders like fatty liver disease or diabetes with over 80 percent accuracy by analyzing a person's facial thermal map.

Metabolic Disorders And Facial Heat

Participants with metabolic disorders showed higher temperatures in the eye area compared to their healthy counterparts. Elevated blood pressure was also associated with increased temperatures in the eye area and cheeks. Males with hypertension typically had relatively colder noses.

"The thermal clock is so strongly associated with metabolic diseases that previous facial imaging models were not able to predict these conditions," says Jing-Dong Jackie Han from Peking University in China. "We hope to apply thermal facial imaging in clinical settings, as it holds significant potential for early disease diagnosis and intervention."

Biological Clocks and Aging

Even among those born in the same year, biological clocks tick at different rates, meaning everyone ages differently. Scientists have long sought ways to measure this hidden health indicator. While some non-invasive options exist, like scanning the human eyeball, quick, convenient, or affordable tests measuring physical signs of biological aging have been elusive.

The researchers argue that human faces contain "a wealth of information" easily accessed for this purpose. Although core body temperature decreases with age, how facial temperature changes over time remains largely unknown. Studies often link high body temperatures to high metabolic rates; now, this also seems true for facial temperatures.

Limitations And Further Research

The current research is limited by data collected solely from Chinese participants, making it unclear if results apply to other populations. Environmental factors and emotions can also affect heat emitted by the face; hence participants were imaged in a temperature-controlled room while calm.

To understand why thermal facial images change with age, researchers analyzed bloodwork from 57 healthy individuals in China alongside their thermal and 3D facial readings. They found that increased eye and cheek temperatures were linked to heightened cellular activity tied to inflammation.

Impact Of Exercise On Thermal Age

In another study phase, researchers asked 23 participants to jump rope daily for two weeks to see if exercise affected thermal facial 'age.' By the end of the period, this group reduced their thermal age by an average of five years, while non-jumping peers showed no significant difference (Yu et al., Cell Metabolism, 2024).

More research is needed to confirm these associations and explore whether thermal facial imaging can predict healthy aging in other ways too. The study's promising results encourage further investigation into this innovative approach.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.