Vision transformer based interpretable metabolic syndrome classification using retinal Images

Abstract Metabolic syndrome is leading to an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our study developed a model using retinal image data from fundus photographs taken during comprehensive health check-ups to classify metabolic syndrome. The model achieved an AUC of 0.7752 (95% CI: 0....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tae Kwan Lee, So Yeon Kim, Hyuk Jin Choi, Eun Kyung Choe, Kyung-Ah Sohn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:npj Digital Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01588-0
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Summary:Abstract Metabolic syndrome is leading to an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our study developed a model using retinal image data from fundus photographs taken during comprehensive health check-ups to classify metabolic syndrome. The model achieved an AUC of 0.7752 (95% CI: 0.7719–0.7786) using retinal images, and an AUC of 0.8725 (95% CI: 0.8669–0.8781) when combining retinal images with basic clinical features. Furthermore, we propose a method to improve the interpretability of the relationship between retinal image features and metabolic syndrome by visualizing metabolic syndrome-related areas in retinal images. The results highlight the potential of retinal images in classifying metabolic syndrome.
ISSN:2398-6352