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The Health of Your Eyes Can Indicate True Biological Age, Study Shows. You may have heard the phrase, "the eyes are the window to the soul". Well, experts now say we could learn a great deal about our health by simply having our eyes checked. For example, severely dry eyes may be a sign of rheumatoid arthritis. Exceedingly-high cholesterol in the human body may present itself as a white, gray or blue ring formed around the iris. Damage to your retina may be an early indicator of nerve damage related to diabetes. A recent study suggests the retina could help determine our body's actual biological age. "The retina offers a unique, accessible 'window' to evaluate underlying pathological processes of... diseases that are associated with increased risks of mortality.", Dr. Mingguang He, professor of ophthalmic epidemiology at the University of Melbourne, via CNN. Researchers reportedly gathered data from the retinal images of over 130,000 people participating in the long-term U.K. BioBank government study. According to CNN, the study found a two percent increase in the risk of death for each year of difference between one's chronological age and biological age found in the retina. The study notes that the wider the gap in actual age and biological age, the higher the risk of contracting a deadly illness. "The really unique aspect of this paper is using that difference in a patient's real age compared to the age the computer thought a patient was to determine mortality.", at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, via CNN. "This is not something that we thought was possible.", Dr. Sunir Garg, clinical spokesperson at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, via CNN. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT