Eye color is the very feature that cannot be changed in any way. Yes, a person can wear colored contact lenses for some time, but doctors strongly do not recommend doing this – they literally kill our vision. So, according to “Doctor Peter”, a group of European scientists decided to find out if the color of a person’s eyes is associated with any risks to his health.
They, in particular, determined what processes can occur in the retina when the body is under stress, and what role genes play in all this.
It turned out that some metabolites involved in the formation of eye color damage the retina, while the degree of degeneration is determined by an imbalance between metabolites and other protective processes in the eye. That is, some processes that occur in the eyeball can play an important role in the health of the retina – and pigment, that is, the color of the eye, can influence these processes.
Metabolic pathways consist of a series of biochemical reactions in cells that convert a parent compound into other products. Some eye diseases, including retinal pathologies or neurodegenerative diseases, are associated with imbalances in metabolic pathways. After a long analysis, scientists came to the conclusion that the genes of brown-eyed people turned out to be the best defenders. That is, people with dark eyes are much more protected from various vision problems, especially those that can develop with age.
According to scientists, a lighter color of the iris increases the risk of age-related changes. That is, people with a blue iris were prone to various eye diseases and vision problems. They are especially at risk of macular degeneration – such changes occur when the layers of the retina shift.
Scientists conducted a study in which 171 people aged 52 to 93 took part. All volunteers showed signs of early age-related macular degeneration. The analysis showed that in blue-eyed people the risk of disease progression was twice as high as in participants with a dark or intermediate – green or gray – color of the iris.
In addition, brown-eyed people, as it turned out, are much less likely to suffer from hearing loss with age. What exactly this is connected with – has not yet been established.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
