Predicted reproductive longevity and women's facial attractiveness.

Agnieszka Żelaźniewicz,Judyta Nowak-Kornicka,Bogusław Pawłowski,Klaudia Zbyrowska,Catharine Penelope Cross

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0248344

Abstract

Physical attractiveness has been shown to reflect women’s current fecundity level, allowing a man to choose a potentially more fertile partner in mate choice context. However, women vary not only in terms of fecundity level at reproductive age but also in reproductive longevity, both influencing a couple’s long-term reproductive success. Thus, men should choose their potential partner not only based on cues of current fecundity but also on cues of reproductive longevity, and both may be reflected in women’s appearance. In this study, we investigated if a woman’s facial attractiveness at reproductive age reflects anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level, a hormone predictor of age at menopause, similarly as it reflects current fecundity level, estimated with estradiol level (E2). Face photographs of 183 healthy women (Mage = 28.49, SDage = 2.38), recruited between 2nd - 4th day of the menstrual cycle, were assessed by men in terms of attractiveness. Women’s health status was evaluated based on C-reactive protein level and biochemical blood test. Serum AMH and E2 were measured. The results showed that facial attractiveness was negatively correlated with AMH level, a hormone indicator of expected age at menopause, and positively with E2, indicator of current fecundity level, also when controlled for potential covariates (testosterone, BMI, age). This might result from biological trade-off between high fecundity and the length of reproductive lifespan in women and greater adaptive importance of high fecundity at reproductive age compared to the length of reproductive lifespan.

Highlights

According to some hypotheses of the adaptive significance of physical attractiveness, traits perceived as attractive are expected to be related with various aspects of an individual’s biological condition [1]
We found no relationship between age at menarche and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) level (r = -0.01; p = 0.87; 95% CI [-0.15; 0.13]) or facial attractiveness (r = 0.04; p = 0.55; 95%CI [-0.10; 0.18]), we did not control for age at menarche in the analyses
We found no correlation between BMI and AMH level (r = 0.02; p = 0.78; 95%CI [-0.12; 0.16]) and a negative correlation between BMI and E2 level (r = -0.17; p = 0.02; 95%CI [-0.31; -0.02]) and positive with tT (r = 0.12; p = 0.06; 95%CI [-0.02; 0.26])

Summary

Introduction

According to some hypotheses of the adaptive significance of physical attractiveness, traits perceived as attractive are expected to be related with various aspects of an individual’s biological condition [1]. As women differ in fecundity depending on genetic, developmental, health, and environmental factors [8,9,10], choosing more attractive (i.e. more fecund) woman in mate choice would be adaptive and might potentially increase male reproductive success. Reproductive longevity & attractiveness time to menopause), an important factor for a couples’ total reproductive success [11]. In humans, inclined towards long-term monogamous pair-bonding [12], this may be especially important due to age-related decrease in fertility, ending in menopause, associated with the ultimate cessation of reproductive functions. For long-term relationships, where the number of offspring produced by a couple will depend in part on time to a woman’s menopause, men should choose their potential partners, based on cues of high current fecundity, and based on cues of high residual reproductive value [13]

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Conclusion