J. Cosmet. Sci., 63, 303–310 (September/October 2012) 303 Relationships among skin conditions, mood, and polyunsaturated fatty acids of RBCs in healthy women NINA HAMAZAKI-FUJITA, MIHO ITOMURA, KEI HAMAZAKI, HIROMI TOHNO, SATOSHI YOMODA, YOSHIHIRO TERASHIMA, and TOMOHITO HAMAZAKI, Kracie Pharma, Ltd., Takaoka-city, Toyama 933-0856 (N.H.-F., H.T., S.Y.), Institute of Natural Medicine (M.I., Y.T., T.H.), and Department of Public Health (K.H.), University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan. Accepted for publication January 19, 2012. Synopsis Little is known about nonpathological facial skin problems at present. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships among facial skin conditions, mood, and the fatty acid composition of red blood cells (RBCs) in women. One hundred and thirty-two apparently healthy Japanese women aged between 20 and 60 years were recruited. Facial skin conditions were analyzed using a Robo Skin Analyzer, and the RBC fatty acid composition was also determined. Questionnaires concerning mood were administered. Forehead pigmentation was more mood-dependent (in 20s group) and less arachidonic acid (AA)-dependent (in all participants) than that in other areas of the face. Actually there was no correlation in pigmentation between the forehead and other areas of the face when adjusted for age, smoking, and drinking. Skin conditions were adversely correlated with a negative mood. α-Linolenic acid concentrations were negatively correlated with negative mood scores. Pigmentation characteristics in the forehead were independent from other areas of the face. Negative mood and AA were adversely correlated with skin conditions. INTRODUCTION The facial skin problems are very important concern especially for women even when these are within normal limits. Facial skin problems can lead to deterioration in mood regardless of whether there are pathological changes or not. However, little is known about nonpathological skin conditions. Reasons for the paucity of studies in this area include (i) the supposed lack of a relationship with disease, (ii) the methodological in- ability to analyze normal skin conditions until recently, and (iii) possible underestimation of the effects of skin condition on mood. Mood has long been recognized as an important factor in pathological dermatological con- ditions (1), and the reverse also holds true (2). This relationship might further be explained Address all correspondence to Nina Hamazaki-Fujita at fujita_nina@phm.kracie.co.jp.

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 304 in part by a third factor, namely nutrition (3). Unfortunately, nonpathological conditions such as the development of wrinkles and pigmentation have rarely been documented from a nutritional point of view. This point is important since n–3 fatty acids are anti- infl ammatory mainly as a result of competition with arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism (4). Furthermore, administration of n–3 fatty acids has been shown to ameliorate symp- toms of mood disorders (5–7), while antistress effects of fi sh oils have also been investi- gated (8,9). Owing to recent IT revolutions, it is now possible to digitally determine skin conditions (10). In the present study, we determined the relationships among facial skin conditions, mood, and blood fatty acid composition. MATERIALS AND METHODS STUDY PROTOCOL One hundred and thirty-two healthy Japanese women aged between 20 and 60 years were recruited from three local hospitals in Toyama-city (n = 35 in their 20s, n = 30 in their 30s, n = 36 in their 40s, and n = 31 in their 50s or aged 60). All underwent routine medical checkups within 6 months before the recruitment and were free from any serious diseases. Sun exposure of all participants was rather limited, as they all worked inside hospitals. None of the volunteers were using pills at the time of the present study. Study participants were asked to come to their hospital at 8 a.m. when they were off from work. They were asked to wash their face with soap, and 15 min later their facial skin condition was analyzed with a Robo Skin Analyzer (MM&Niic Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). The ana- lyzer is able to take digital pictures of the face from three angles (left, front, and right) while calculating the degree of pigmentation, presence of wrinkles (total length and area of crow’s feet), and texture and brightness of the facial skin. More details were reported by Kawada et al. (10). In the present study, scores of texture and brightness did not have any marked correlations with mood or fatty acid levels. For this reason, we focused on pigmentation and wrinkles. The degree of pigmentation on various parts of the face was calculated as pixel counts with the help of Image J software (11). We also found that the forehead, defi ned as the area between the hair and the eyebrows, observed from the front angle was the only important area of the face in regression analysis of pigmentation and mood. The face was, therefore, divided into two parts: the forehead and others. The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of One K Corporation (Tokyo, Japan), and written informed consent was obtained from each participant. FATTY ACID ANALYSIS Blood samples were taken before skin analysis. Red blood cells (RBCs) were separated from ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid–anticoagulated blood samples, washed twice with saline and then frozen at -80°C until analysis. The fatty acid composition of the total phospho- lipid (PL) fraction was analyzed as previously described (12) with slight modifi cations. QUESTIONNAIRES Two psychological tests, the Arousal Checklist (SACL) (13) and Profi le of Mood States (POMS) (14), were administered on the day of skin analysis when the participants were