A claim you hear on longevity podcasts
The claim checked: High blood sugar ages your skin Hear it at 4:28
Three studies linked higher blood sugar or diabetes to older-looking or weaker skin. In one, people with the lowest glucose looked younger: 60.1 against 61.4 years. One study of adults aged 24 to 45 found no link.
Computed from 4 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. Sources land on both sides. 10 more studies are waiting for a full read and do not count yet.
“Over time, some of that excess sugar begins sticking to proteins in your body, especially collagen. Scientists call these compounds AGEs or advanced glycation end products or AGEs.”
other primary study · 2016
“Taken together, these data demonstrate fragmentation and alterations of mechanical properties of dermal collagen fibrils in diabetic skin.”
Alterations of Dermal Connective Tissue Collagen in Diabetes: Molecular Basis of Aged-Appearing Skin. PLoS One
Who: Adults aged 45-62 with type 2 diabetes and age-matched non-diabetic controls; punch biopsies from sun-protected underarm skin; non-smokers without skin disorders
PMID 27104752
trial or observed group · 2013
“In conclusion, our data show that higher glucose levels were associated with higher perceived age, independently from confounding factors.”
High serum glucose levels are associated with a higher perceived age. Age (Dordr)
Who: Middle-aged Leiden Longevity Study participants (offspring of nonagenarians and their partners), mean age about 62, including 33 with diabetes
PMID 22102339
other primary study · 2015
“Participants in the lowest tertile of glucose had a statistically significantly lower perceived than participants in the highest tertile (60.1 and 61.4 years, respectively; p value for trend = 0.017).”
Disentangling the effects of circulating IGF-1, glucose, and cortisol on features of perceived age. Age (Dordr)
Who: Non-diabetic middle-aged Leiden Longevity Study participants (offspring of nonagenarians and partners), mean age about 63
PMID 25874752
None.
other primary study · 2022
“We found no relationship between perceived facial age and glycemic markers neither in non-diabetic men or non-diabetic women between 24–45 years.”
Perceived facial age and biochemical indicators of glycemia in adult men and women. Sci Rep
Who: Healthy non-smoking Polish adults: 116 men aged 30-44 and 163 nulliparous women aged 24-34, no diabetes
PMID 35710822
Seven studies found higher blood sugar went with more glycation products, sugar-bound proteins, in the skin. The link held in people with and without diabetes. Three found a weak link or none with current glucose.
Computed from 10 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. 10 more studies are waiting for a full read and do not count yet.
other primary study · 2004 · landmark
“The overall variance in autofluorescence observed among diabetic patients could largely (r=0.78, p<0.001) be explained by the independent effects of age (p<0.001), mean HbA1c (p<0.001) and serum creatinine levels (p=0.01).”
Simple non-invasive assessment of advanced glycation endproduct accumulation. Diabetologia
Who: 46 patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and 46 age- and sex-matched controls, mostly Caucasian, at University Hospital Groningen; skin biopsies from 43 (13 type 1, 18 type 2, 12 controls)
PMID 15243705
other primary study · 1993 · landmark
“Our data also suggest that the accelerated accumulation of glycoxidation products in diabetes can be explained by hyperglycemia and increased glycation alone, without invoking an increase in oxidative stress.”
Accumulation of Maillard reaction products in skin collagen in diabetes and aging. J Clin Invest
Who: 39 type 1 diabetic patients aged 17-73 and 52 nondiabetic controls aged 0-85 (live donors and autopsy samples), buttock skin biopsies
PMID 8514858
trial or observed group · 1999 · landmark
“With few exceptions, all the age-adjusted collagen variables were significantly correlated with the various HbA1c measures.”
Skin collagen glycation, glycoxidation, and crosslinking are lower in subjects with long-term intensive versus conventional therapy of type 1 diabetes: relevance of glycated collagen products versus HbA1c as markers of diabetic complications. DCCT Skin Collagen Ancillary Study Group. Diabetes Control and Complications Trial. Diabetes
Who: 216 subjects with type 1 diabetes aged 17-50 from 8 DCCT centers (122 intensive, 94 conventional therapy), plus 40 nondiabetic age-matched controls
PMID 10102706
other primary study · 2016
“HbA1c, a measure of semi‐recent glycaemic status, was significantly associated with higher SAF levels, with a larger effect among type 2 diabetic individuals.”
Lifestyle and clinical determinants of skin autofluorescence in a population-based cohort study. Eur J Clin Invest
Who: LifeLines cohort adults aged 18-80 in the northern Netherlands: 8695 without diabetes and 314 with type 2 diabetes
PMID 27002914
other primary study · 2013
“It was found that present skin AF was significantly and positively correlated with HbA 1c AUC over the past 15 years.”
Skin autofluorescence reflects integration of past long-term glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care
Who: 241 Japanese adults with type 1 diabetes (mean age 36.7, duration 18.2 years) and 110 age-matched nondiabetic controls
PMID 23579177
trial or observed group · 2013
“First and foremost, similar to FL, GSPNE was strongly associated with past cumulative glycemia.”
The association between skin collagen glucosepane and past progression of microvascular and neuropathic complications in type 1 diabetes. J Diabetes Complications
Who: 216 DCCT type 1 diabetes volunteers (123 primary prevention, 93 secondary intervention cohort) with skin biopsies near DCCT closeout
PMID 23153673
controlled trial · 2013
“In multivariate analyses log(SIF) was significantly associated with mean HbA1c, age, estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/m2, smoking status, skin tone, and clinic latitude <37° N.”
Clinical and technical factors associated with skin intrinsic fluorescence in subjects with type 1 diabetes from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications Study. Diabetes Technol Ther
Who: 1,185 adults with type 1 diabetes from the DCCT/EDIC cohort (53% male), mean age 51.5 years and diabetes duration 29.8 years, measured in EDIC years 16/17
PMID 23882708
other primary study · 1991
“There were no significant correlations of MHBG, HbA,, or collagen FL with CML, CMhL, pentosidine, or total fluorescence.”
Decrease in skin collagen glycation with improved glycemic control in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Clin Invest
Who: 14 insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetic patients aged 19-51 in relatively poor glycemic control
PMID 1904067
other primary study · 2011
“sAGE is correlated with MBG-independent biological variation in HbA1c, but not with MBG itself.”
Skin intrinsic fluorescence is associated with hemoglobin A(1c )and hemoglobin glycation index but not mean blood glucose in children with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care
Who: Children aged 5 to 20 years (mean 13.2) with type 1 diabetes of at least 1 year duration attending clinics at Children's Hospital New Orleans; 71% white, 29% black
PMID 21636794
other primary study · 2022
“However, our study failed to establish a correlation between SAF and metabolic control in the prediabetes phase.”
Weak Association between Skin Autofluorescence Levels and Prediabetes with an ILERVAS Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients
Who: Spanish ILERVAS participants without diabetes (women 50-70, men 45-65) with at least one cardiovascular risk factor; 1444 with prediabetes by HbA1c
PMID 35268075
None.
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