Color vision screening program in Britain called unnecessary

School screening programs to identify congenital color vision defects in children in the United Kingdom offer little help and should be discontinued, the authors of a recent study argue. Other methods of informing children about potential occupational difficulties caused by color vision defects are likely to be more helpful, the study authors said.

P. Cumberland and colleagues at the Institute of Child Health in London studied 6,422 men and 6,112 women, part of the 1958 British birth cohort, who were followed from the time of birth until age 33. Color vision was assessed at age 11 using the Ishihara test and career choices had been recommended for those with color vision defects.

A total of 431 men (6.7%) were shown to have congenital color vision defects, and some of these men had nonetheless chosen occupations for which color vision is considered essential; eight men (3.1%) had chosen careers with the police, armed forces or firefighting services, compared with 141 men (3.8%) with normal color vision. The authors noted that no men with congenital color vision problems were employed in the electrical and electronic engineering fields.

The study is published in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.