Facial Appearance and Markers of Cardiometabolic Risk in Healthy Adult Men

Abstract

Facial appearance is hypothesized to serve as a cue to an individual’s biological condition. However, the results of studies linking facial appearance with various measures of biological condition are inconclusive. Furthermore, most research has assessed the biological condition based on self-reported health or only a single health measure. This study aimed to verify if a man’s facial appearance reflects his metabolic health, which was assessed based on a broad panel of physiological biomarkers. The study included 105 healthy men with a mean age of 35.42 years (SD_age = 3.57). Cardiometabolic health was assessed based on lipid profile, inflammation, homocysteine levels, glycemia, and liver enzyme levels. Participants’ facial attractiveness and masculinity were assessed from photographs in an online survey. Facial attractiveness and masculinity were negatively related to homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), triglycerides levels, and cardiometabolic risk score. However, these relationships were no longer significant after controlling for age, adiposity, and testosterone levels. Additionally, perceived facial masculinity and attractiveness were positively associated with testosterone levels and negatively with adiposity. Facial masculinity also showed a positive correlation with age. These findings align with previous research, which showed that men’s facial appearance conveys information about age, adiposity, and testosterone level but not about cardiometabolic health.