Can Eye Color Predict Pain Tolerance? - UPMC & Pitt Health Sciences News Blog (2024)

Can Eye Color Predict Pain Tolerance? - UPMC & Pitt Health Sciences News Blog (1)

The color of a woman’s eyes may be linked to how well she can handle pain and respond to painkillers.

In a study presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Pain Society, Inna Belfer, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh, found that healthy, pregnant women with light-colored eyes had a higher tolerance for pain than those with brown or hazel eyes.

Can Eye Color Predict Pain Tolerance? - UPMC & Pitt Health Sciences News Blog (2)Dr. Belfer and her team evaluated pain before and after giving birth, along with mood, sleep, and coping behavior, for 58 women at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC; 24 had brown or hazel eyes and 34 green or blue.

The women with dark-colored eyes had significantly increased sleep disturbance and higher levels of pain, even after receiving epidural analgesia. They also showed increased anxiety and higher rates of depression.

“This sample focused on healthy women during and after labor. In the next part of this project, we will look at the link between eye color and pain associated with chronic conditions,” said Dr. Belfer. She acknowledges that the study involved a small sample but believes that further investigation is warranted.

“There have been previous studies about the relationship of gender, age and hair color to pain, but this is the first research on eye color. This work may improve our knowledge of genetic contributions to pain and analgesia,” she said.

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Can Eye Color Predict Pain Tolerance? - UPMC & Pitt Health Sciences News Blog (2024)

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Can Eye Color Predict Pain Tolerance? - UPMC & Pitt Health Sciences News Blog? ›

In a study presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Pain Society, Inna Belfer, M.D., Ph. D., associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh, found that healthy, pregnant women with light-colored eyes had a higher tolerance for pain than those with brown or hazel eyes.

Does eye color have anything to do with pain tolerance? ›

It may appear far-fetched, but a study by Inna Belfer, M.D., Ph. D., associate professor or anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh, found that eye color is a genetic biomarker for pain thresholds.

Is eye color predetermined? ›

The inheritance of eye color is more complex than originally suspected because multiple genes are involved. While a child's eye color can often be predicted by the eye colors of his or her parents and other relatives, genetic variations sometimes produce unexpected results.

Which eye color is healthiest? ›

Brown Eyes Are Associated With Few if Any Health Risks

“In general, everyone should make sure to wear 100 percent UV-blocking sunglasses when outdoors to minimize their chances of developing cataracts and other eye diseases,” Abugo advises.

What color eyes are more prone to cataracts? ›

The color of your eyes affects your risk of developing cataracts. Studies show that people with dark brown eyes have a higher risk of developing cataracts than people with lighter eyes. UV light is a known contributor to cataract development no matter what color your eyes are.

What color are most damaging to eye? ›

Blue light as well as a silent killer to your vision and light that many patients are unaware of. This light is found in many electronic devices that many patients use each day. Learn about the different lights in the visible light spectrum, what lights to avoid and how you can protect your vision from damage today.

What color hurts eyes the least? ›

Colors with shorter wavelengths (blues especially) tend to produce more eye strain than colors with longer wavelengths (like red and orange). If your work does not require you to use a display with perfect color accuracy, try shifting the color balance more toward the red side of the spectrum.

Do blue eyes mean inbreeding? ›

This is a persistent myth with no scientific basis. Blue eyes are a result of genetics, not inbreeding. The diversity of eye colors within a population is a natural outcome of genetic variation. Blue eyes are not a mutation but rather a variation in the expression of genes related to eye color.

Why do experts say that no two eye colors are the same? ›

The more melanin present, the darker the eye color. However, the amount of melanin varies in each person, which is why no two people have the same exact eye color.

What is the most attractive eye color in the US? ›

The responses in this case indicated that light-colored eyes — green, gray, blue, and hazel — are considered the prettiest eye colors overall. The surveyed eye colors ranked in the following order: Green – 20.3% Light blue – 16.9%

What eye color has worse vision? ›

Eye color doesn't significantly affect the sharpness of your vision, but it can affect visual comfort in certain situations.

Do purple eyes exist? ›

Although the deep blue eyes of some people such as Elizabeth Taylor can appear purple or violet at certain times, "true" violet-colored eyes occur only due to albinism. Eyes that appear red or violet under certain conditions due to albinism are less than 1 percent of the world's population.

What race is more prone to cataracts? ›

African American female patients had the highest odds of cortical cataract (odds ratio (OR) 3.81; 95% CI, 2.65-5.48, P < . 001), followed by African American male patients (OR 3.09; 95% CI, 2.05-4.67, P < . 001). Asian female and Asian male patients also had significantly higher odds of cortical cataract.

What color eyes are most likely to need glasses? ›

As of now, the commonly accepted theory is that eye colour has no real effect on vision quality. It's significant to note that while people with lighter eyes may have increased light sensitivity, those with dark eyes should still make it a point to wear sunglasses whenever they set foot outside.

Does eye color determine sensitivity? ›

Eye Color Matters

Lighter-colored eyes have less pigment to protect against sun damage and UV radiation compared to darker-colored eyes. This means that people with green, hazel, or blue eyes are more sensitive to light and more susceptible to UV damage.

What is the rarest eye color? ›

Of those four, green is the rarest. It shows up in about 9% of Americans but only 2% of the world's population. Hazel/amber is the next rarest color after green. Blue is the second most common and brown tops the list, found in 45% of the U.S. population and possibly almost 80% worldwide.

What does your eye color say about your health? ›

Those with lighter eyes have higher skin cancer risk.

Not surprisingly, other research also suggests that folks with light-colored irises (blue or green) have a higher risk of developing eye melanoma than those with darker orbs.

What color is the human eye most sensitive to? ›

The correct answer is Yellowish Green. The human eye is most sensitive to yellowish-green colour in the daylight. The sensitivity of the human eye to light of a certain intensity varies strongly over the wavelength range between 380 and 800 nm.

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