High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes could be detected early by looking at an individual’s facial temperature, new evidence has revealed.
Latest research has found that a colder nose and warmer cheeks are associated with a range of chronic illnesses.
To successfully examine facial temperatures, the researchers need to use certain AI-derived spatial temperature patterns that require a thermal camera and a data-trained model.
First author Jing-Dong Jackie Han said: “Aging is a natural process, but our tool has the potential to promote healthy aging and help people live disease-free.”
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During the study, the team of researchers looked at the facial temperatures of roughly 2,800 adults, particularly looking at the nose, eyes and cheeks.
They discovered that the nose tends to get colder at a faster rate than other parts of the face, the study has reported.
Meanwhile, the results have shown that temperatures around the eyes tend to increase with age.
Individuals with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease are more likely to have faster thermal aging, the research has revealed.
According to the findings, people with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease are likely to have higher eye area temperatures compared to those without these conditions.
In addition, the results have suggested that individuals with high blood pressure are more likely to have higher cheek temperatures.
- Normal body temperature is different for everyone
- High salt intake and pro-inflammatory diet associated with type 2 diabetes
- Inflammation triggered by stress linked to metabolic syndrome
Temperatures around the eyes and cheeks were high among people with metabolic conditions because of an increase in cellular activities related to inflammation.
Jing-Dong Jackie Han said: “The thermal clock is so strongly associated with metabolic diseases that previous facial imaging models were not able to predict these conditions.”
“We hope to apply thermal facial imaging in clinical settings, as it holds significant potential for early disease diagnosis and intervention.”
Read the study in full in the journal Cell Metabolism.
