Impact of color vision deficiency on the quality of life in a sample of Indian population: Application of the CVD-QoL tool.

Purpose: To investigate the quality of life (QoL) in a sample of color vision deficit (CVD) patients in India and how color vision deficiency affects them psychologically, economically, and in productivity related to their work and occupation.

Methods: A descriptive and case-control study design using a questionnaire was conducted on N = 120 participants, of whom 60 were patients of CVD (52 male and eight female) who visited two eye facilities in Hyderabad between 2020 and 2021 and 60 were age-matched normal color vision participants who served as controls. We validated English-Telugu adapted version of CVD-QoL, developed by Barry et al. in 2017 (CB-QoL). The CVD-QoL consists of 27 Likert-scale items with factors (lifestyle, emotions, and work). Color vision was assessed using the Ishihara and Cambridge Mollen color vision tests. A six-point Likert scale was used, with lower scores indicating poor QoL (from 1 = severe issue to 6 = no problem).

Results: The CVD-QoL questionnaire's reliability and internal consistency were measured, including Cronbach's α (α =0.70-0.90). There was no significance between the group in age (t = -1.2, P = 0.67) whereas the Ishihara colour vision test, scores showed a significant difference (t = 4.50, P < 0.001). The QoL scores showed a significant difference towards lifestyle, emotions and work (P = 0.001). The CVD group had a poorer QoL score than the normal color vision group odds ratio [OR] =0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI], (P = 0.002, CI = 0.14-0.65, Z = 3.0) . In this analysis, a low CI indicated that the OR was more precise.

Conclusion: Color vision deficiency affects Indians' QoL, according to this study. The mean scores of lifestyle, emotions, and work were lower than the UK sample.Since CVD is underreported and possibly affects developing countries more, advocacy for a new health care plan on CVD is essential. Increasing public understanding and awareness could also help diagnosing the CVD population.