The Change in Color Vision with Normal Aging Evaluated on Standard Pseudoisochromatic Plates Part-3

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of aging on color vision in a large normal population using Standard Pseudoisochromatic Plates part-3 (SPP-3), which is a pseudoisochromatic plate test used to detect congenital or acquired color vision deficiency (CVD). Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed SPP-3 test results of 23,565 normal eyes of 23,565 subjects (women: 12,035; men: 11,530), who were examined between July 1993 and December 2010. The subjects had a mean age of 46.9 ± 18.5 years, ranging from 5 to 89 years, and they were evaluated following categorization into age groups with five-year increments. Subjects whose best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/20 or better, with no history of ocular diseases, were included. Subjects with congenital CVD were excluded. Results: We found a negative correlation between age and the total number of correct answers in SPP-3 (Spearman’s correlation coefficient, r = −0.5743; p < .0001). The total number of correct answers was the highest in subjects aged 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years (17.2 ± 0.9 [mean ±SD]). The total number of correct answers of these groups had significant differences from those in the 5–9 years age group and those aged >30 years (Dunn’s post-hoc test: p < .0001). Among the 19 detection numerals in SPP-3, we found that the correct answer rates of six numerals decreased with aging, and the colors of the numerals and their backgrounds all located parallel to the tritanopic confusion line. Conclusions: Using SPP-3, we confirmed that aging influenced color vision, even in normal eyes with a good BCVA (20/20 or better). The total number of correct answers of SPP-3 was the highest in subjects aged 10–24 years and had already begun to decline in those in their 30s.