An eye test can show how long you have left to live.
An international team discovered a link between the biological age of a person’s retina and their risk of dying.
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A simple look at the retina says a lot about your health.
The retina is a membrane at the back of the eye. It contains light-sensitive cells that wear out over the years. For example, a retinal detachment occurs.
A study of nearly 47,000 adults between the ages of 40 and 69 over an average period of 11 years found that people whose retinas were ‘older’ than their actual age had a higher risk of dying over the next 10 years.
Researchers call the difference between a person’s actual age and the age of their retinas the “retinal age gap.”
A large “retinal age gap” was associated with a 49 to 67 percent higher risk of dying from causes other than cardiovascular disease or cancer.
To determine the age of the retina, the researchers used an advanced type of AI (artificial intelligence) known as “deep learning”. The researchers emphasize that the new technology is less invasive, expensive and time-consuming compared to other tests.
Effective precautionary instrument
author dr Mingguang He of the Center for Eye Research Australia calls the retina “a unique, easily accessible window” for detecting upcoming diseases.
“These results suggest that retinal age may be a clinically important biomarker of aging,” he says.
For every year that the “retinal age gap” increased, the scientists found a two to three percent increase in the risk of death.
Their discoveries could lead to a routine screening tool for a range of life-threatening diseases, author Dr. Mingguang Hey.
Big differences
The “retinal age gap” varied widely between participants — and is a cause for concern.
In more than 50 percent of people, the retinas looked older than their actual age. They are so-called “Fast Agers”. With these “rapidly aging people” it was found:
- 51 percent had an age gap of more than three years (1 in 2).
- 28 percent reported a gap of five years (1 in 4).
- 4.5 percent showed a gap of more than ten years (1 in 20).