Prevalence of colour blindness among patients with leprosy.
Using Ishihara test plates the prevalence of colour blindness was studied on six hundred and ninety-seven leprosy patients and two hundred and ninety-two normal healthy controls. 7.88% of male patients with tuberculoid leprosy, 12.18% of male patients with lepromatous leprosy, and 0.67% of male controls were detected to be colour blind (red-green deficiency or total colour weakness). The differences between the different groups are significant. Among female patients and controls, only one lepromatous leprosy patient was detected to have red-green deficiency. This suggests the possibility of a genetic predisposition to Mycobacterium leprae infection in patients with leprosy.
Shwe
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Clinical Research Unit (Malaria), Department of Medical Research, Dagon, Yangon, Myanmar.
D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence