A study of color vision deficiency in candidates appearing in medical board

Introduction: Testing for color vision is a mandatory part of medical examination for various services. While some services require high degree of color perception, others allow candidates with varying amounts of deficits. Approximately 8% of males and 0.4% of females are  congenitally color deficient. Materials and Methods : 823 candidates who appeared in the divisional medical board  during a period of three years were studied. Ishihara chart was used to screen all candidates and those who gave incorrect answers were further tested by the Edridge Green lantern . Results :65 candidates( 13 % of male candidates and 0.8% of female candidates) were found to have color vision deficiency. Only 31(47%) candidates were aware of their disability prior to appearing for the medical examination. 64.6% of those selected for jobs requiring accurate color perception were not aware of their deficit before appearing for the medical examination.Conclusion: A screening test to establish color vision should be undertaken while giving  advice regarding career so that educational and other activities might be modified accordingly. Also ,  there is a need to supplement the existing color vision tests for various services  in India, with more objective and reproducible diagnostic tests.