Who Are at Risk of Color Blindness?

Hello there readers! We welcome you back for an update of this blog, today I will explain regarding the risk factors of color blindness. Mainly the risk factors can be either genetically or even acquired. Below will be some further explanation about the topic.  

Most individuals with color deficiency are born with it. Congenital color blindness is usually inherited as a genetic trait passed down from mother to son. A mother who carries one normal X chromosome and one X chromosome with a mutation of red and/or green pigments is not affected, but her son has a 50 percent chance of having a color vision deficit. Fathers cannot pass it to their sons, because they supply only a Y chromosome to the genetic mix, but they can pass the gene to their daughters who carry the gene but do not manifest a color deficit. For a woman to inherit a color vision deficiency, she must have a mother who is a carrier and a father who is color deficient. The odds of this occurring are very slim. That explains why males are much more likely than females to inherit color deficiency, experiencing color blindness from birth. An estimated one in ten males has some form of color deficiency.

Color blindness, however, can develop as the result of disease, medical conditions, trauma, or as a side effect of medication. Conditions that may lead to color blindness includes :

• Glaucoma
• Parkinson's disease
• Alzheimer's disease
• Leukemia
• Sickle cell anemia
• Macular Degeneration
• Alcoholism

Certain drugs may also increase the risk for acquiring color blindness. The drug hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) can cause color blindness. It is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, among other conditions.

Color Blindness Inheritance