Original Article April 15, 2026 April 15, 2026

Prevalence and lack of awareness of dyschromatopsia among students of four university courses

DOI: 10.37039/1982.8551.20260032

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To identify the prevalence of colour dyschromatopsia in students of engineering, medicine, dentistry, and pedagogy courses at a community college in a city in the Midwest of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Methods:

Applied research, a quantitative approach, and exploratory tests were conducted using the Ishihara Colour Test complemented by the Farnsworth D-15 Test.

Results:

The study sample comprised 660 participants (414 females and 246 males; p = 0.001). Of the total cohort, eight (1.21%) presented colour vision abnormalities in the Ishihara or Farnsworth D-15 test; when considering only the male population, the prevalence of dyschromatopsia reached a rate of 3.25%, and six (75%) were unaware of their deficiency. Deuteranopia was the most common disability (5 = 75%).

Conclusion:

Dyschromatopsia was observed only in males, most of whom were unaware of their disabilities. This suggests the need to adopt diagnostic tests at the beginning of courses to provide better guidance for choosing a specialty.