Study links premature skin aging to stress, diet and lifestyle choices

The 2024 China Women's Anti-Fatigue Aging Technology Forum was held in Shanghai on July 19.

Researchers from Fudan University's Huashan Hospital, School of Life Sciences, and the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences discussed fatigue-induced aging skincare innovations at the forum.

Wang Sijia from the institute shared his new study at the forum, pinpointing a trend towards premature aging among Chinese women. He has analyzed facial skin aging data from over 300,000 women across 32 provinces in the country.

The study reveals that mental stress contributes to this phenomenon by lowering DNA methylation levels, which in turn affects the expression of key cellular factors in the skin, leading to increased dullness.

Yao Beibei, vice president of Yinfinity (CBNData), threw light on the underlying causes of this trend. The findings show major lifestyle and behavioral changes among young people, such as a 1.25-hour decrease in average sleep and more than 60 percent of young women working an extra hour per day. The study also identifies a high-fat, high-sugar diet as a contributing factor, which is especially common among the younger demographic.

Recent studies by scientists at Chando's research and development center show that aging inflection points for Chinese women's skin, such as crow's feet, nasolabial folds, and tear troughs, are now appearing significantly earlier, between the ages of 24 and 33, a two-year shift over the previous three.

The trend has prompted Chinese skincare firms to create treatments that combat weariness.

Zou Yue, general manager of the R&D Center at Chando Group, introduced an "anti-fatigue aging" component called ferment filtrate and lysate derived from polar yeasts.

A representative from the Chinese self-media company Yan Jiu Suo (Beauty Study,), which has more than 1 million followers on social media, stated: "With continued research and development, consumer trust in domestic brands continues to rise. This gives local brands an opportunity to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.

The emphasis on anti-fatigue as a new approach in skincare research reflects a broader realization of the influence of modern lifestyles on health and aging, driving both scientific communities and China's beauty industry to respond with novel remedies.