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Assessing color vision loss among solvent‐exposed workers
Author(s) -
Mergler Donna,
Blain Lucie
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700120208
Subject(s) - medicine , hue , color vision , colour vision , solvent exposure , occupational exposure , environmental health , optics , physics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Abstract Acquired color vision loss has been associated with exposure to organic solvents in the workplace. However, not all tests of chromatic discrimination loss are designed to detect acquired, as opposed to congenital, loss. The Lanthony D‐15 desaturated panel (D‐15‐d), a simple 15 cap color arrangement test, designed to identify mild acquired dyschro‐matopsia, can be administered rapidly in the field, under standard conditions. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the D‐15‐d among 23 solvent‐exposed workers of a paint manufacturing plant, by comparing the results obtained with the D‐15‐d to those obtained with the Farnsworth‐Munsell 100 Hue (FM‐100), a highly sensitive measure of color vision loss. The D‐15‐d revealed a significantly higher prevalence of dyschromatopsia among the ten highly exposed workers (80%) as compared to the 13 moderately exposed workers (30.8%); FM‐100 results revealed one false positive. All dyschromatopic workers presented blue‐yellow loss; the FM‐100 detected eight complex patterns, while the D‐15‐d identified 5. Comparison of D‐15‐d and FM‐100 scores were highly correlated (corr. coeff. 0.87; p < 0.001). Multiple regression analyses showed both scores to be significantly related to age and exposure level. The findings of this study indicate that the D‐15‐d is an adequate instrument for field study batteries. However, the FM‐100 should be used for more detailed assessment.