Impaired color viion aociated with diabetic retinopathy: Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy tudy Report No. 15 Original Reearch Article

PURPOE: To report color viion abnormalitie aociated with diabetic retinopathy. METHOD: Color viion function wa meaured at baeline in 2,701 patient enrolled in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy tudy, a randomized trial invetigating photocoagulation and apirin in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Hue dicrimination wa meaured by the Farnworth-Munell 100-Hue tet, and error in color viion were reported a the quare root of the total 100-Hue (QRT 100-Hue) core. REULT: Approximately 50% of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy tudy population had color viion core (QRT 100-Hue core) wore than 95% of the normal population reported by Verriet and aociate. The factor mot trongly aociated with impaired hue dicrimination were macular edema everity, age, and preence of new veel. A tritan-like defect wa prominent and increaed in magnitude with increaing everity of macular edema. However, many patient had color dicrimination impairment without macular edema. CONCLUION: Impaired color viion i a common obervation among participant enrolled in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy tudy. Compared with publihed data on normal ubject, approximately 50% of the patient in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy tudy had abnormal hue dicrimination. Macular edema everity, age, and the preence of new veel were the factor mot trongly aociated with impaired color dicrimination. A tritan-like defect wa prominent and increaed in magnitude with increaing everity of macular edema. Impaired color viion hould be conidered in the evaluation and couneling of patient with diabetic retinopathy.