Can you discuss iridology as a science and studies that show interesting results in the field

Iridology as a Science

Iridology is known as an alternative medicinal practice that diagnoses health status by assessing the patterns, colors, and other details of the iris and pupil. Proponents of this practice view the eye as a window to the individual’s overall health, where various indicative signs in the eye correlate with different bodily systems.

Scientific Studies on Iridology

Despite its popularity in some circles, iridology has been subjected to several scientific studies to determine its efficacy and the results have been largely inconclusive or negative.

The 1988 Study

Perhaps one of the most well-known studies on iridology was conducted in 1988 by Simon et al. In this study, three iridologists were unable to correctly identify kidney disease among 78 individuals, with a success rate of only 39% to 56% accuracy - suggesting no correlation between predicted and actual findings.

The 2005 Study

Another study done in 2005 by Münstedt et al. tried to evaluate iridology's effectiveness in diagnosing common forms of cancer. The study found that iridology was neither selective nor specific in identifying the presence of cancer in patients.

The 2019 Study

Most recently, a review on iridology published in 2019 by Ernst found no rigorous clinical trial evidence to suggest that iridology is effective in diagnosing any specific medical condition.

Conclusion

Present scientific data shows little to no support for the promise of iridology as a diagnostic tool. While it might provide substantial placebo effects, its empirical value remains dubious at best according to current research. More robust and comprehensive scientific research would be needed to change the current understanding of iridology.

• Simon, A., Worthen, D.M., & Mitas, J.A. (1988). An evaluation of iridology. Journal of the American Medical Association, 260(15), 2259-2261.
• Münstedt, K., El-Safadi, S., Brück, F., Zygmunt, M., Hackethal, A., & Tinneberg, H.R. (2005). Can iridology detect susceptibility to cancer? A prospective case-controlled study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(3), 515-519.
• Ernst, E. (2019). Iridology: A systematic review of the literature. Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine, 13(2), 80-81.