Color vision deficiency among biomedical students: a cross-sectional study

To determine the prevalence of color vision deficiency (CVD) among first-cycle students of the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Yaoundé I.

A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out between October 1, 2015 and May 31, 2016. Distant visual acuity was measured and color vision test done for all consenting students. Ishihara's plates were used to test all the participants. Those who failed the test were tested with the Roth's 28 Hue test for confirmation of CVD and classification.

A total of 303 students were included, among whom 155 were males (50.8%) and 148 were females (49.2%). The mean age was 20.2±2 years. Five students (1.6%) failed the Ishihara's plate testing. Roth's 28 Hue test confirmed CVD in 4 of those cases, giving a prevalence of 1.3%. There were equal numbers of protan and deutan CVD.

Despite its low prevalence among first-cycle students of the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, CVD screening should be performed in order to raise awareness, which will go a long way to help orientate the choice of future specialty.