Age‐induced change in the color of the human crystalline lens

Abstract

AbstractPurpose To determine the chromatic coordinates of different human crystalline lenses to analyze the age‐induced change in the color of the crystalline.Methods The spectral transmission of nine human crystalline lenses of different ages were measured by using a Perkin‐Elmer 800 UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Using these data we calculated the chromatic coordinates of each crystalline lens for both solar and incandescent illumination. The study adheres to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki for Research Including Human Subjects and was approved by the Institutional Review Board.Results The results show a greater saturation of color with the increase of age. In principle, the change tends towards yellow, although for ages of over 70 years it veers more towards orange colors. All the crystalline lenses were more yellow and saturated under incandescent illumination.Conclusion At the beginning, a young crystalline lens is transparent and its chromatic coordinates practically coincide with those corresponding to solar light. As age increases, the crystalline lens yellows. On the basis of the results obtained, it cannot be claimed that the more yellow a crystalline lens is, the older it is. Our results show that between 40 and 67 years the chromatic coordinates are quite similar, especially under incandescent illumination. However, total transmission of light is more important for vision than the color of the lens and we have found that the age‐induced changes in these two parameters do not always coincide. All this shows that the different factors that influence yellowing of the crystalline lens do not act in the same way on everyone and that crystalline opacification does not depend solely on aging.