A new study shows that the depth of the wrinkles on a woman’s face could hold important clues about the health of her bones. The research was conducted by the Yale School of Medicine in the USA. It involved 114 women ranging in age from their late 40s to early 50s. Lead researcher Dr Lubna Pal looked at the relationship between skin wrinkling and bone mineral density. Dr Pal assessed wrinkles at 11 different places on the face and neck. She also checked skin rigidity on the forehead and cheeks. Pal said: "For the older patient, her bigger concern is what is happening to her skin. The clinician's concern is what is happening to her bones. Our question was, can we fine-tune the patient to get a sense of the bone issues?"
Dr Pal says the study shows a definite connection between the thickness of a woman’s bones and the depth of her wrinkles. She said women who had the deepest wrinkles were far more likely to have thinner bones. Having less dense bones means you have a greater chance of suffering from hip and other fractures. These are common causes of non-disease-related death in older people. The research suggests that instead of spending money on anti-aging and anti-wrinkle creams, women should invest in a bone density screening. Dr Judith Turgeon said: "The cost of a fracture would far outweigh the cost of a screen like this." It might even be the case your worry lines will decrease if you know you have strong bones.