Worldwide prevalence of red-green color deficiency.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Meta-analysis/systematic synthesis of observational population surveys
PubMed 22472762 · doi:10.1364/JOSAA.29.000313
What was done
Literature describing the prevalence of inherited red-green color deficiency across different ethnic and geographic populations was reviewed from large random population surveys.
What was found
Prevalence of red-green color deficiency in European Caucasians was approximately 8% in men and 0.4% in women, and between 4% and 6.5% in men of Chinese and Japanese ethnicity. The male:female prevalence ratio differed markedly between Europeans and Asians. Prevalence was noted to be rising in men of African ethnicity and in migrant-settled areas. Founder events and genetic drift were proposed as the primary drivers of these demographic differences.
Why it matters
This synthesis provides comparative worldwide prevalence benchmarks for inherited color vision deficiency across ethnic groups and offers population genetics explanations for observed variations.
Limits
The abstract lacks details on systematic review methodology, the number of included studies, total sample size, and specific numerical rates for African populations and Asian women.