Prevalence of Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) In Medical Students In Kolkata, West Bengal

Objective: Colour vision is a function of three types of cone pigments present in retina. Any abnormality in the cone pigments may cause deficiency of colour vision which is called as colour blindness. The incidence of Colour vision deficiency varies from race to race and different in different geographical areas. Colour is very important sign used in medical profession, but there is no effective screening for Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) at any level of medical profession. The present study was undertaken to find out CVD in medical students at different Medical Colleges in Kolkata. Material and Method: A total of 300 medical students including 168 males and 132 females between 18-22 years were examined for CVD in Medical colleges in Kolkata. Each student without ocular abnormality was shown Ishihara's plates under day light at normal reading distance. Results: Among 168 boys, 8 were colour deficient (4.8%), and 46 (27.3%) showed red-green anomaly. Among 132 girls, 46 (34.8%) showed red-green anomaly. Conclusions: With this incidence of colour vision deficiency, students with CVD may feel difficulty in day-today practice in medical field. So, screening for CVD in medical students and medical technicians at the time of selection is very important and that may help for early management of CVD.