Color Blindness more Common in Boys

A recent study shows that white male children are more likely to suffer from colorblindness.

According to findings conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine, they discovered that African-Americans typically have the lowest rates of colorblindness in preschool boys.

For the study, 4,005 California preschool children age 3 to 6 in Los Angeles and Riverside counties showed that Caucasian male children were more likely to have this health issue, even when examining four other major ethnicities.

The study sample showed that 1 in 20 Caucasian male children are born colorblind--meaning that they cannot see an accurate representation of color due to a genetic mutation. More specifically, those who are colorblind cannot properly identify the difference between red and green.

Findings showed that 5.6 percent of Caucasian boys, 3.1 percent of Asian boys, 2.6 percent of Hispanic boys and 1.4 percent of African-American boys are colorblind.

Previous findings have also shown how the rate of colorblindness is significantly lower among girls from all ethnicities, ranging from 0 to 0.5 percent.

With many studies, researchers stress the importance of diagnosing this health issue early so that these children's academia is not negatively affected.

"It's not that the child is not smart enough or bright enough, it's that they see the world a little differently," said lead researcher Rohit Varma, M.D., chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine and director of the USC Eye Institute, via a press release. "That needs to start early on because labeling a child as not smart or bright enough is a huge stigma for the child and causes significant anxiety for the parents and family."

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More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Opthamology.