According to Tara Parker of the NY Times, 200 sets of identical twins were used in an aging study to determine what outside factors contribute to facial aging during the annual twin convention in Twinsberg, Ohio.
The researching doctors chose identical twins because they are "genetically programmed" to age at the same rate, making it easier to distinguish what outside environmental and life experiences quicken the aging process. The study focused only on identical twin women; no men were involved in the study.
Using photographs, a panel would point out the aging differences in the appearance of each twin to determine which one looked older than the other. Several factors were established as increased aging factors such as depression, sun exposure, divorce, stress, and smoking. The twin who had more experience or exposure to the aforementioned factors usually appeared older than the twin who did not.
51-year-old identical twin Bonnie Richardson finds the study to be quite accurate: "[My sister and I] basically look the same. This is probably because we have about an equal amount of stress and sun exposure and are both married. The aging process seems to be the same for both of us right now."
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/twin-studies-explain-wrinkles-of-aging/
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