14 DAY TRIAL // The general belief that if people look older than their age, they might be in poor health is incorrect, according to a new research carried out by St. Michael's Hospital.
Dr. Stephen Hwang, a research scientist at St. Michael's Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Toronto, said that the results of the study show that one must look at least ten years older than he/she is, in order for this to be a concern about their health.
The study included 126 people, aged 30 to 70 years, visiting a doctor's office, who were asked to fill in a survey that determined their physical and mental health.
Each participant was photographed and the pictures were shown to 58 physicians, who were told the actual age of every person, and were asked to rate how old the person looked.
Dr Hwang said that “few people are aware that when physicians describe their patients to other physicians, they often include an assessment of whether the patient looks older than his or her actual age.
“This long standing medical practice assumes that people who look older than their actual age are likely to be in poor health, but our study shows this isn't always true.”
So people who look a bit older than they are should not worry, because even if a physician says that one person looks up to five years older than he/she actually is, this is not a reliable clue to that person's health.
On the other hand, if a doctor says that someone looks ten or more years older, then in 99% of the cases, that person has a poor physical or mental health.
“Physicians have simply assumed that their quick assessment of how old a person looks has diagnostic value,” explained Dr. Hwang.
“We were really surprised to find that people have to look a decade older than their actual age before it's a reliable sign that they're in poor health.
“It was also very interesting to discover that many people who look their age are in poor health.
“Doctors need to remember that even if patients look their age, we shouldn't assume that their health is fine.”
The research was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.