面部骨骼暴露你的年齡祕密

It's not just wrinkles that reveal age, changes in facial bone structure make faces look older, too, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center。

Researchers analyzed CT scans of 60 female and 60 male patients' faces. The patients were split into three groups: young (ages 20 to 40)， middle-aged (41 to 64) and older (65 and up)。

Bones undergo changes with age, the researchers found. In both men and women, the eye sockets became wider and longer. The distance between the most prominent part of the brow to the top of the nose decreased, while the cheekbones stuck out less and the opening of the nose bones receded. Meanwhile, the lower jaw shrunk in both length and height。

The changes in eye-socket size and shape may contribute to forehead wrinkles and crow's feet. A decrease in jaw size could flatten the chin and soften the neckline, while changes in nose bones could lead to "decreased nasal support". Researchers also found that women showed the changes slightly earlier than men。

"Physicians have long been taught that facial aging is caused by soft tissue descent and loss of elasticity," said Howard Langstein, the chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "Though we have always known that bones change over time, until now, the extent to which it causes an aged appearance was not appreciated."

美國“趣味科學”網站4日報道稱，揭示人類年齡的不僅僅是皺紋。美國羅切斯特大學醫學中心的研究人員發現，面部骨骼結構的變化也會讓人看起來更老。

研究人員對60名女性病患和60名男性病患的面部進行了CT掃描。這些病患被分爲三組：年輕組(20到40歲)、中年組(41到64歲)以及老年組(大於等於65歲)。

研究人員發現，骨骼結構隨着年齡發生了變化。不論男女，眼窩均會隨着年齡增長變寬變長。而眉宇最高處與眉心處距離縮短，同時顴骨不再那麼突出，鼻骨開口處向後萎縮。另外，下頜骨在長度和高度上都有“縮水”。

眼窩大小、形狀的變化會導致擡頭紋以及魚尾紋。頜骨變窄變小使得下巴扁平，頸線柔和，而鼻骨的變化則會引起“鼻部支撐的減少”。研究人員還發現，與男性相比，女性面部骨骼的變化更早一些。

“長期以來，內科醫生們所接受的教育是，面部老化是軟組織萎縮以及缺乏彈性的結果，”羅切斯特大學醫學中心整容修復手術首席專家霍華德雷恩斯坦說道。“儘管早已知道骨骼會隨時間發生變化，可直到如今我們纔開始重視其對面部老化的作用程度。”