Ocular ageing biomarkers and their clinical utility: a review
Samuel Liu, Ruiye Chen, Wenyi Hu, Zhuoting Zhu
Abstract
The eye serves as a window into systemic health, offering invaluable insights. A growing number of studies predict age using ocular parameters, and recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to a surge in ocular ageing biomarkers. This article aims to review the literature that discusses both AI- and non-AI-based ocular ageing biomarkers and to evaluate their translational potential. A systemic search using Boolean operators was conducted on both MEDLINE and Embase, using a combination of MeSH terms, subject headings and free text to identify articles that discuss a specific ocular parameter as an ageing biomarker. A total of 31 articles were included in the study, which met the inclusion criteria. Most biomarkers demonstrated strong predictive abilities for chronological age, and some biomarkers were shown to be associated with disease and mortality. This review highlights the accuracy of ocular ageing biomarkers in predicting chronological age, explores the potential of ocular ageing biomarkers for disease risk stratification, and discusses their viability in representing a universal underlying ageing process.