RetiAGE Ties Older-Looking Retinas to 12% Higher Osteoporosis Risk in 44,000-Person UK Study
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · May 14
RetiAGE Ties Older-Looking Retinas to 12% Higher Osteoporosis Risk in 44,000-Person UK Study
2 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · May 14
Nearly 44,000 UK Biobank participants showed that each standard-deviation rise in the AI-derived RetiAGE score was linked to a 12% higher future osteoporosis risk after adjusting for major risk factors.
A Singapore cohort of nearly 2,000 adults showed the same direction of effect: older-looking retinas were associated with lower bone mineral density, reinforcing the UK findings.
Among UK men, the association was stronger, with each standard-deviation increase in RetiAGE tied to a 25% higher osteoporosis risk even though women are diagnosed more often overall.
Researchers trained RetiAGE on nearly 130,000 retinal images from more than 40,000 South Korean participants, then used standard retinal photos to estimate 10-year osteoporosis or fracture risk.
The study, published in PLOS Digital Health, suggests retinal imaging could become a low-cost, non-invasive screening tool for a disease that often goes undetected until after a fracture.
An AI eye scan spots osteoporosis, but can we trust its diagnosis over the current gold standard?
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Retinal AI Predicts Osteoporosis Risk: RetiAGE Algorithm Enables Non-Invasive, Scalable Bone Health Screening
Overview
Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School and the Singapore Eye Research Institute have developed the RetiAGE deep learning algorithm, which uses retinal images to predict a person’s risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. This method is non-invasive and much more accessible than traditional, often costly, diagnostic procedures. The core finding is that retinal aging is directly linked to lower bone mineral density and a higher risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Importantly, RetiAGE’s predictive power works independently of conventional risk factors, making it a promising tool for early, routine screening and prevention of bone health issues.