Switzerland – AI Estimates Biological Age Through the Retina

LAUSANNE, September 16 /.ATSH -AA/ – Researchers at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland have developed an artificial intelligence system that can estimate a person’s biological age through retinal images, potentially enabling the identification of increased risk from several diseases.

The system estimates the age of the retina, while a significant difference between biological and real age could indicate higher health risks.

According to the recent study published in the journal Nature Communications, a greater biological age of the retina was associated with increased risk from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer and dementia.

The researchers trained the artificial intelligence algorithm using retinal images from more than 70,000 people aged 40 to 79. The model estimated retinal age with an average deviation of less than three years from the participants’ real age.

The research also found differences between men and women. In men, retinas that appeared older were more strongly linked to metabolic factors, including high blood pressure, diabetes and overweight, while in women the link was stronger with vascular factors, such as the risk of thrombosis.

The researchers stressed that a retina that looks biologically older does not mean a person has or will develop a particular disease.

Smoking was identified as the strongest factor linked to accelerated retinal aging, while the researchers said further studies are needed before the system can be used in clinical practice.