Departments of Psychiatry and Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Aesthet Surg J. 2019 Jun 21;39(7):NP288-NP292. doi: 10.1093/asj/sjy283.
Ageism is a common form of prejudice that negatively affects the health of older adults. Anti-aging procedures are increasingly popular among patients seeking aesthetic surgery and minimally invasive treatments.
This study aimed to identify the prevalence of age-based discrimination, and its relationship to health, among patients seeking cosmetic procedures.
Patients from a university-based, single-surgeon, aesthetic plastic surgery clinic completed the Everyday Discrimination Scale, which assesses the frequency with which individuals have experienced "microaggressions" and the main reason(s) for discrimination (including age). Participants also completed: measures of perceived age discrimination across interpersonal, romantic, work, and healthcare contexts and anticipation of age-based discrimination in the future; a single-item measure of self-rated health (rated 1-5); and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
Fifty patients consented to participate in the study (94% women, 78% white, mean age 49.4 ± 13.5 years). More than 30% of participants reported age as the main reason for everyday discrimination. Participants who reported experiencing age-based discrimination, compared with those who did not, had worse self-rated health, lower self-esteem, and greater anticipated age-based discrimination. Participants most frequently endorsed experiencing age-based discrimination in an interpersonal context (36.0%) followed by work settings (20.0%).
A significant portion of patients seeking cosmetic procedures may experience age-based discrimination, which could negatively affect their health and well-being. Patients might benefit from expectation management about how their procedure may or may not address their concerns about age-based discrimination. More research is needed to determine whether cosmetic procedures help to mitigate discrimination in aging patients.
年龄歧视是一种常见的偏见形式，会对老年人的健康产生负面影响。抗衰老程序在寻求美容手术和微创治疗的患者中越来越受欢迎。
本研究旨在确定寻求美容程序的患者中基于年龄的歧视的流行程度及其与健康的关系。
来自一所大学的、由一位外科医生进行的美容整形诊所的患者完成了日常歧视量表，该量表评估了个人经历“微侵犯”的频率以及歧视的主要原因（包括年龄）。参与者还完成了以下评估：人际、浪漫、工作和医疗保健环境中感知到的年龄歧视的评估；自我评定健康的单一项目（评为 1-5 级）；以及罗森伯格自尊量表。
50 名患者同意参与研究（94%为女性，78%为白人，平均年龄 49.4±13.5 岁）。超过 30%的参与者报告年龄是日常歧视的主要原因。与未经历过年龄歧视的参与者相比，报告经历过年龄歧视的参与者自我评定的健康状况更差，自尊心更低，预期的年龄歧视也更多。参与者最常报告在人际环境（36.0%）中经历过基于年龄的歧视，其次是工作环境（20.0%）。
寻求美容程序的患者中有相当一部分可能经历过基于年龄的歧视，这可能会对他们的健康和幸福产生负面影响。患者可能会受益于对他们的程序如何或可能不会解决他们对基于年龄的歧视的担忧的预期管理。需要进一步研究以确定美容程序是否有助于减轻老年患者的歧视。
