Incidence of myopia in high school students with and without red-green color vision deficiency.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of color vision on myopia development by testing refraction error and axial length of the eye for high school students with and without color vision deficiency (CVD).


METHODS
A school-based cross-sectional, cluster sample study was conducted to test the color vision and refractive error of 16,539 high school students. Students were screened for CVD using a pseudoisochromatic plate. CVD was confirmed in students failing the test using a Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue Test which also served to classify the subtype (protan or deutan). Three classmates of each CVD subject, matched in five myopia risk factors, were chosen to form the normal color vision (CN) control group. Ophthalmic examinations were performed to determine refractive status and axial length.


RESULTS
Of the students, 309 were found to have red-green CVD and 927 were selected as the CN control group. The prevalence of myopia in the CVD group (45.6%) was significantly lower than that of the CN group (65.8%; P<0.001). The CVD group was also less myopic in refraction (P<0.001) than CN, and protan subjects had shorter axial lengths than those in the control group (P=0.007).


CONCLUSIONS
Color vision deficiencies appear to influence the development of myopia. The observed lower incidence of myopia in people with CVD may be linked to the reduced functionality of the L/M chromatic mechanism.
Qian
Yi-Shan
YS
Department of Ophthalmology, Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Chu
Ren-Yuan
RY
He
Ji C
JC
Sun
Xing-Huai
XH
Zhou
Xing-Tao
XT
Zhao
Nai-Qing
NQ
Hu
Dan-Ning
DN
Hoffman
Matthew R
MR
Dai
Jin-Hui
JH
Qu
Xiao-Mei
XM
Pao
Kristina E Yi-Hwa
KE
D000293:Adolescent; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003119:Color Perception Tests; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires