Is screening for congenital colour vision deficiency in school students worthwhile? A review a

Abstract

This review analyses the literature on screening for congenital colour vision deficiency in school students, which predominantly uses the Ishihara test. The review was framed with respect to the established Wilson and Jungner criteria for screening programs. These criteria relate to the characteristics of the condition concerned, the performance of the screening test, the existence of treatment options and the performance of screening programs.The literature reviewed suggests that congenital colour vision deficiency has not been shown to increase risk of road traffic crashes and is not a preclusion to driver licensing in most developed countries. The occurrence of congenital colour vision deficiency has been used to limit entry into certain occupations; however, the value of screening school students with regard to occupational preclusion is questionable. Stronger evidence exists indicating no association between congenital colour vision deficiency and level of educational achievement. Studies showing any association between congenital colour vision deficiency and other health and lifestyle impacts were rare. The most commonly used screening test (using Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates) performs well with respect to detecting red-green colour vision deficiencies. Finally, the only interventions we identified for congenital colour vision deficiency were management ones around the availability of specific tinted lenses and computer programs to aid colour perception in certain tasks.Given this picture, the weight of evidence appears to be in favour of not adopting (or discontinuing) routine colour vision screening programs for school students; however, it may be worthwhile for a career advisor to refer school students to an optometrist or ophthalmologist for colour vision screening, upon expression of interest in an occupation where normal colour vision is either particularly desirable or is a regulatory requirement.

Behavioural and emotional issues among primary school pupils with congenital colour vision deficiency in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A case-control study

“…For screening, the Ishihara test is widely used as it is quick and easy to administer, inexpensive, and has a high validity ( Birch, 1997). Though, in a recent published review article on ‘Is screening for congenital colour vision deficiency in school students worthwhile?’, Ramachandran & colleagues (2014) stated that there’s minimal evidence to support the screening for CCVD in school. However, this article has received disagreement from other researchers.…”

Is there an association between Perceptual Ability Test scores and color vision acuity?

“…It is commonly cited that the prevalence of red‐green CVD is approximately 8% in men and about 0.4% in women 11 . Individuals with known CVD may find themselves involuntary disqualified from working in fields such as microscopic pathology, electrical and combat engineering, aviation, navigation, pharmacy, chemistry, medical technology, and possibly esthetic dentistry 12,13 . Therefore, it may be prudent to screen dental students for CVD.…”

Evaluation of central macula, retinal nerve fiber layer, and ganglion cell complex thickness in congenital color vision deficiency

“…A partial loss of cone function is described as anomalous trichromacy, and a total loss is classified as dichromacy (5). The most frequent types of CVD are inherited from mutations on the X chromosome, and are associated with the inadequacy to distinguish between the red and green wavelengths (6). In Caucasian societies, approximately 8% of males and 0.4% of females are affected by CVD (7).…”