Young white males have highest incidence of color vision deficiency, study finds

In a large population-based cohort of preschool children, researchers found a higher prevalence of color vision deficiency in non-Hispanic white children.

The Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study, published in Ophthalmology, investigated the prevalence of vision disorders in 37- to 72- month-old children of black, Asian, Hispanic and non-Hispanic white ethnicities.

Subjects were tested in a door-to-door screening by a vision care professional. Of 5,960 eligible participants, 4,005 children were able to complete the color vision testing and partake in further analysis. Children from four ethnic groups participated: 1,265 black children, 812 Asian children, 1280 Hispanic and 820 non-Hispanic white children.

Xie and fellow researchers found that 63 children had color vision deficiency (CVD): 59 boys or 3% of testable boys and four girls or 0.02% of testable girls.

Among boys, the prevalence of CVD was 1.4% for black children, 3.1% for Asian children, 2.6% for Hispanic children and 5.6% for non-Hispanic white children. For girls, CVD rates were much lower at 0.2% for black children, 0.5% for Asian children, 0.2% for Hispanic children and 0% for non-Hispanic white children.

In boys, researchers found the incidence of CVD in non-Hispanic white children to be statistically significant and higher than in Hispanic or black children. The researchers noted that the incidence of CVD in Asian children was not found to be significantly different than in other ethnic groups.

The study concluded that in the case of male preschool children with CVD, significant ethnically related differences exist, with the highest incidence in non-Hispanic white children and lowest in black children.

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Source:

Xie JZ, et al. Ophthalmology. 2014;http://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420%2814%2900049-9/abstract.