The eyes may be a window to bone health. New population studies from Singapore and the UK suggest that the rate at which a person's retina ages is linked to their risk of osteoporosis, a 'silent' bone disease affecting nearly 20% of the global population.
Researchers used an AI model called RetiAGE to analyze retinal images from thousands of participants. In the UK Biobank study of nearly 44,000 people, each standard deviation increase in RetiAGE was associated with a 12% higher risk of osteoporosis diagnosis. Among men, that risk jumped to 25%.
Osteoporosis is often diagnosed too late, after a fracture occurs. Retinal imaging offers a simple, non-invasive, and low-cost screening opportunity. The research was led by the Singapore Eye Research Institute and published in PLOS Digital Health.