Molecular and Genetic Medicine

Congenital Color Vision Deficiency (CVD) in Children Living in High Altitudes of Nepal

Abstract

Sushil K and Mainalee Mandira

Background: It has shown that congenital color vision deficiency (CVD) has different prevalence and patterns in various ethnic groups and geographical areas. Perception of color have significant role in routine daily life. The children with color vision defects may have problems in detecting colors in schools, color posters and slides which may lead to failure in exam as well as in the daily learning activities. So, this present study is aimed to find out the prevalence of CVD in children living in high altitudes of Nepal.
Methods: A total of 423 children including 217 males and 206 females between ages 11-15 years were examined for congenital CVD in children of high altitudes (2500meter above sea-level) of Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha districts of Nepal. Each subject was shown the plates of Ishihara for color vision under normal day light at distance of 75 cm and the duration given for them to see was 5 seconds.
Results: Children’s color vision was tested using Ishihara’s 38 Plates edition. Among 217 boys, 24 (11.05%) were color deficient. Among 206 girls, 5 (2.42%) were color deficient.
Conclusion: The trends of color vision deficiency in high altitudes showed the need of more and more research on CVD in children and make them aware about the problem that might be faced by them in near future.