As the poet said, "The eye is the window of the soul," but at the same time, the eye can also reflect a person's health.
Dry eyes can be a sign of rheumatoid arthritis, and high cholesterol may cause white, gray, or blue rings to form around the colored parts of the eye (called the iris). If there is a copper-gold ring around the iris, this is a key symptom of Wilson's disease. Wilson's disease is a rare genetic disorder that causes copper to accumulate in the brain, liver, and other organs, gradually causing poisoning in the body.
But that's not all. Diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and even cancer, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration can all cause nerve damage, and damage to blood vessels in the back of the eye (retina) is an early symptom of nerve damage.
In an annual eye exam, checking for signs of disease is a key reason doctors hold open your eyes to look deep into the depths of your eyes.
In addition to judging disease, a study called Retinal Age Gap as a Predictive Biomarker for Mortality Risk suggests that the retina may provide us with a simple, non-invasive way to confirm the true physiological age of our bodies — which may not coincide with our actual age. The researchers said it was the first study of its kind and was published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology on Jan. 18.
Study author Dr Ho Ming-kwong, a professor of ophthalmic epidemiology from the Centre for Eye Research in Australia and the University of Melbourne, writes: "The retina provides a unique, accessible 'window' to assess potential pathological processes in systemic vascular and neurological disorders that are associated with an increased risk of death. ”
Information about heart health can be predicted by scanning the eyes
The study analysed more than 130,000 retinal images provided by UK Biobank participants. The UK Biobank is a long-term government study of more than 500,000 UK participants aged 40 to 69.
Using deep learning models (a form of machine learning), researchers can estimate the "retinal age gap" between the true health of the eye and the age a person has been born. The study found that for every year that a person's true age and older physiological age determined by the eye increased the risk of death from any cause by 2 percent.
There is a large gap of three, five and ten years between the actual age measured from the retina and the physiological age, which is significantly associated with a risk of death from up to 67% of specific diseases, and is when other influencing factors such as high blood pressure, weight and different lifestyles (such as smoking) have been taken into account.
"Through deep learning algorithms, computers can accurately calculate the age of patients from color pictures of the retina, and we as clinicians cannot see this degree of change." We can tell if the patient is a child or an adult, but we can't tell if he's 70 or 80 years old. Dr. Suny Garger told CNN that he was a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and an ophthalmologist at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, but did not participate in the study.
Retinal imaging
"The most unique aspect of this study is determining mortality by comparing the true age of patients with what computers think patients should be, something we thought was impossible." Dr. Garger wrote in the email.
The model was unable to accurately predict the increased risk of death in both disease groups, namely cardiovascular disease and cancer. The researchers said this could be because of the smaller number of cases of both diseases in the study population, or because of improved treatment for cancer and heart disease.
Dr. Garger and his team write that their new findings have identified the retinal age gap as an independent predictor of increased risk of mortality, particularly from non-cardiovascular disease and non-cancer.
"These findings suggest that retinal age may be a clinically significant biomarker of aging."
At this point, putting the theory into practice is just a glimmer of hope in the eyes of researchers. Still, this study shows another benefit of allowing others to look deeply into your eyes, even if that person is just your eye doctor.
"We still need a lot of data from more diverse populations, but this study highlights that simple, non-invasive eye tests may help us inform patients about their overall health, and hopefully help patients understand the changes they can make, which improves not just their eye health, but their overall health." Garger wrote.
Compile the | Wu Jialing
Edit | Zhao Yunying
The duty editor | Tang Xing
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