Simulating age-related changes in color vision to assess the ability of older adults to take medication

To determine if simulated, age-related changes in color vision can adversely affect one's ability to properly take medication as simulated by bead selection.

Randomized controlled study.

University site.

University students 18 to 26 years of age without eye disorders that would affect color vision.

Yellow-lens glasses to represent age-related color vision changes.

The number of correct beads selected and rating of task difficulty. The secondary outcomes were participants' responses based on which colors and color pairs were most difficult to discern and strategies they might have used to select beads.

The control group had no difficulties in selecting the appropriate beads, while the experimental group had significantly more mistakes, particularly with colors in the blue-violet spectrum. Average scores for the total number correct for the control and experimental groups were 36 (100%) and 27 (74.4%), P < 0.001, respectively, out of a possible 36 correct.

Declines in color vision with age can adversely affect an individual's abilities to appropriately select medications. For patients taking several medications, declines in color vision should be considered when counseling older persons on strategies for compliance. Although more studies are still needed to further generalize these findings to the geriatric population, this study has shown color vision can adversely affect medication compliance.