Abstract

BEREZOVSKY, Adriana; CAVASCAN, Nívea Nunes  and  SALOMAO, Solange Rios. Color vision discrimination in employees of a photographic laboratory. Arq. Bras. Oftalmol. [online]. 2007, vol.70, n.6, pp. 1001-1005. ISSN 0004-2749.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0004-27492007000600022.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to evaluate chromatic discrimination in employees of a photographic laboratory. METHODS: A total of 47 professional employees of the technical area devoted to calibration and technical assistance for one-hour photo machines (37 men), aged 18 to 41 years (mean of 27.2 ± 5.6 years). The period working in this function ranged from one month to 18 years. Twenty-two normal volunteers (5 men) aged 18-55 years (mean of 25.0 ± 10.6 years) were tested as a control group. Color discrimination was evaluated by the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue test. The inclusion criteria were visual acuity > 0.1 logMAR, normal fundus, absence of hereditary eye disease, absence of visual symptoms or ocular surgery. RESULTS: Twenty-four people (51%) of the professional group presented superior color discrimination when compared to 18% of the control group. Twenty people (42%) presented average discrimination and 3 (7%) presented inferior discrimination. Color vision discrimination was statistically better in professionals when compared to controls (T=968.000, P=0.011). There was no correlation between the period working in the function and color discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: Technical professionals working in a photographic laboratory showed better color discrimination than controls.

Keywords : Color perception; Color perception tests [methods]; Color vision defects [diagnosis].