Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42118477›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2026

Quantification and visualization of 3D facial aging in individuals of European ancestry.

Yi Fan, Harold Matthews, Chenda Meng, Nina Claessens, Seth M Weinberg, Mary L Marazita, Susan Walsh, Mark D Shriver, Anthony Penington, Marie A Cornelis and 5 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Yi FanMelbourne Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, 720 Swanston St, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. yi.fan.1@unimelb.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9230-6351
Harold MatthewsDepartment of Human Genetics, Laboratory of Imaging Genetics, KU Leuven, ON6 Herestraat 49, Box 650, 3000, Louvain, Belgium.
Chenda MengNational Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Nina ClaessensDepartment of Human Genetics, Laboratory of Imaging Genetics, KU Leuven, ON6 Herestraat 49, Box 650, 3000, Louvain, Belgium.
Seth M WeinbergDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Mary L MarazitaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Susan WalshDepartment of Biology, Indiana University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Mark D ShriverDepartment of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA.
Anthony PeningtonPlastic and Oral Surgery, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Marie A CornelisMelbourne Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, 720 Swanston St, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia.
Paolo M CattaneoMelbourne Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, 720 Swanston St, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia.
Tianmin XuNational Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Yun DingThird Clinical Division, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Bing HanNational Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Peter ClaesDepartment of Human Genetics, Laboratory of Imaging Genetics, KU Leuven, ON6 Herestraat 49, Box 650, 3000, Louvain, Belgium. peter.claes@kuleuven.be.

Funding

National Institute of Corrections 2014-DN-BX-K031National Institute of Corrections 2018-DU-BX-0219NIDCR NIH HHS U01-DE020078Research Program of the Research Foundation-Flanders G0D1923NRoyal Children's Hospital Foundation 2013-127
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Facial features undergo continuous transformations across the lifespan. This study quantified and visualized the effects of aging on facial morphology in individuals of European ancestry. Three-dimensional facial photographs of 4,038 individuals (1,455 males and 2,583 females), aged 5 to 85 years and of European descent, were analyzed. Morphological changes in the face were modeled using kernel linear regression, with a focus on age-related changes. Age- and sex-specific expected facial shapes were generated for individuals aged 10 to 60 years in 5-year intervals. Changes in the face were analyzed in the sagittal, vertical, and horizontal directions, with linear distances and angular variations in the upper, middle, and lower regions of the face evaluated. Our results show that facial shape changes decelerate progressively after the age of 25 for both males and females. Facial aging is characterized by the loss of fullness in the forehead, sunken temples, formation of eye bags, deepening nasolabial folds, cheek hollowness and thinning, lengthening, and retrusion of the lips. Notable changes begin in the 30s, with the most pronounced alterations occurring in the 40s and 50s, intensifying in the 50s and 60s. Although the overall aging trajectory is similar in males and females, the magnitude and rate of change demonstrate sexual dimorphism. This study provides comprehensive insights into age-related facial morphological changes in healthy individuals of European ancestry using 3D photogrammetric analysis. These findings have important implications for clinical disciplines such as dentistry, plastic and maxillofacial surgery, and forensic medicine.

Indexed as

3D photogrammetryFacial agingGeometric morphometricsSexual dimorphism

Identifiers

PMID42118477

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.