Smokers' heavily wrinkled faces could be an early warning sign of a serious lung disease, researchers said on June 14.
They found that smokers with pronounced wrinkles are five times more likely than those without marked facial lines to suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes bronchitis and emphysema.
COPD, a leading cause of death world-wide, is caused by smoking, which also prematurely ages the skin. So researchers at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation in south-west England studied whether there was a link between the two.
"This data suggests that if you are a smoker and you are wrinkled you are more likely to have lung disease," said Dr Bipen Patel who conducted the study published in the journal Thorax.
COPD begins with a persistent cough and increased mucous. It eventually leads to fatigue, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing as the lungs are destroyed.