Global Prevalence of Congenital Color Vision Deficiency among Children and Adolescents, 1932-2022.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational prevalence studies
PubMed 40769301 · doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2025.07.031
What was done
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 56 studies published between 1932 and 2022 across 21 countries and 5 continents, identified through searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and Google Scholar through August 12, 2024. A total of 1,703,619 children and adolescents from the general population were analyzed to estimate pooled global, regional, ancestry-based, type-specific, and severity-specific prevalence of congenital color vision deficiency (CVD).
What was found
The global pooled prevalence of CVD was 2.59% (95% CI, 2.20–3.03; I² = 99.37%). Males showed higher prevalence (4.38% [95% CI, 3.93%–4.88%]) than females (0.64% [95% CI, 0.46%–0.89%]). By ancestry, European descent (2.77% [95% CI, 2.10%–3.64%]) and African descent (2.69% [95% CI, 2.21%–3.28%]) were highest. Regionally, Oceania (4.37% [95% CI, 3.36%–5.68%]) and Africa (2.86% [95% CI, 2.36%–3.46%]) had the highest rates. Deutan was the most prevalent type (males: 3.66%; females: 0.46%), followed by protan (males: 1.54%; females: 0.30%) and tritan (males: 0.67%). Males most often had dichromacy (1.59%), whereas females most often had anomalous trichromacy (0.38%). Monochromacy prevalence was 0.36% in males and 0.10% in females.
Why it matters
This review provides global benchmark estimates for pediatric congenital color vision deficiency across nine decades of data, demonstrating clear variation by sex, ancestry, region, and defect subtype.
Limits
Statistical heterogeneity was extremely high (I² = 99.37%). Studies spanned 90 years (1932–2022), during which diagnostic testing methods and criteria varied. Data were restricted to 21 countries, leaving many world regions unrepresented.