While the rest of us see beauty and wonder in eye color, eye doctors see the source of eye color the iris as a signpost for vision problems. That same study suggested an intriguing possibility: Blue-eyed northern Europeans may have somehow adapted an ability to fend off seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D., also known as the winter blues). Normal eye colors range from the darkest shades of brown to the lightest tints of blue. [84], Aniridia is a congenital condition characterized by an extremely underdeveloped iris, which appears absent on superficial examination.[86]. Common Eye Disorders. Especially, Intraocular Melanoma. Since beauty is nowadays mostly the matter of a subjective opinion, there are still some standards that define someone as beautiful, but on that matter, you will find more interesting information in the article aboutcountries with the most beautiful women in Europe andcountries with the most beautiful women in the world. [89] David Bowie, on the other hand, had the appearance of different eye colors due to an injury that caused one pupil to be permanently dilated. Green 2.0%. Blue-eyed, fair-skinned settlers inhabited the Levant some 6,500 years ago, according to an international interdisciplinary team of scientists. Thats true for people of every eye color. Just 22 per cent now have brown eyes, while 30 . Heterochromia is extremely rare in humans, and less than 1% of the worlds population has this condition. The colored part of the eye is called the iris. Amber eyes are a solid color with a strong yellowish/golden and russet/coppery tint, which may be due to the yellow pigment called lipochrome (also found in green eyes). Hazel eyes are usually a combination of green and brown and often flecks of gold or orange. Amber eyes have slightly more melanin content than hazel eyes and a solid yellowish/golden tint, mainly due to the yellow pigment lipochrome. An article released Monday in the peer-reviewed . The most common eye color is dark brown in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Image credit: Aleksandar Mijatovic via Shutterstock. Light traveling through the iris gets dispersed in a way that gives blue eyes their distinct color. The brown eyes with brown hair is one of the commonest combination in most parts of Europe. In addition to having significantly less melanin in their iris than people with brown eyes, hazel eyes or green eyes, blue-eyed individuals don't have very much variation in the part of their DNA responsible for melanin production. Two factors affect the color of ones eyes: the pigmentation of the eyes iris and the frequency of light scattering by the murky medium in the iris stroma. developed a graded system based on the predominant iris color and the amount of brown or yellow pigment present. In humans, the pigmentation of the iris varies from light brown to black, depending on the concentration of melanin in the iris pigment epithelium (located on the back of the iris), the melanin content within the iris stroma (located at the front of the iris), and the cellular density of the stroma. Blue eyes are caused by a gene mutation. the admirers of blue eyes and fair hair were disgusted . All About Vision does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have blue eyes, it means the iris part of your eyes lacks melanin, so, technically, blue eyes don't have any color. Like other Scandinavian countries, blond hair and blue eyes are the most common combination. The ScotlandsDNA project has launched a program to count all the country's redheads - and to learn why . If this gene activation never happens, a baby's eyes will stay blue. University of Copenhagen. [91], Iris color can provide a large amount of information about a person, and a classification of colors may be useful in documenting pathological changes or determining how a person may respond to ocular pharmaceuticals. Icelandic people demonstrate a strong national pride in preserving their culture. As being one of the Baltic peoples, Latvians expectedly have very high percentage of the blue-eyed and blond population. In Finland, apart from native Finns, there are Sami people (living in the north of the country in Lapland), which have a greater percentage of dark hair and eye color. Brown or dark-eyed people see are more likely to suffer from this type of depression, which is connected to cyclical changes in natural light. Give Orange. Contact an eye doctor if you need medical attention. Indeed, one study found evidence of blue-eyed hunters and gatherers roaming Spain 7,000 years ago. By contrast, less than 1 in every 100 people in southern Europe . [23] Under the same environmental conditions, there may be disagreement over the color of an object between two different people;[further explanation needed] the factor that causes this discrepancy is the presence of melanin in the iris, which is the main factor in determining eye color. The amount of damage depends on wavelength and exposure time . Blue eye color is a recessive trait, but brown-eyed parents can still produce a blue-eyed child if both parents carry the genes for blue eyes. A baby's eyes may be blue during this time, but later change color. While it's a very rare type of cancer, people with blue eyes are at higher risk of developing ocular uveal melanoma. The polymorphisms may be in an OCA2 regulatory sequence, where they may influence the expression of the gene product, which in turn affects pigmentation. An estimated 89 percent of Estonians have blue eyes. SEE RELATED: How color contact lenses can make anyone's eyes blue. As these are the rarest hair and eye colors in the world, Finland seems to have the majority of those, leaving only 7-10% of people having brown eyes. Mujica-Mota MA, Schermbrucker J, Daniel SJ. In fact, only about 17 percent of the world's population has blue eyes. Blue eyes have almost no tint in the front layer of the iris. An iris that appears golden contains some melanin even at this early age and is likely to turn from blue to green or brown as the infant ages. An iris with little melanin appears blue, while those with more little melanin appear green or hazel. Arina was adopted by a family in Toronto four years . While ocular melanomas may happen at any age, the risk goes up as you get older. "Originally, we all had brown eyes" said Eiberg. An iris that appears blue under this method of observation is more likely to remain blue as the infant ages. When it comes to first impressions, the little things make all the difference. And when you meet a red head with blue eyes, you are looking at the rarest colour combination of all for human beings. Woman From Denmark With Blue Eyes. The hazel eye color is primarily due to the combination of a decent amount of melanin and Rayleigh scattering. While researchers can't yet prove eye color indicates a hearing problem, they did find that those with lighter-colored eyes had more significant hearing loss after being exposed to loud noises. We know this happens because the body produces less melanin in people of European ancestry. In most people, the back layer has at least some brown pigment in it, even if their eyes don't look brown. Blue eyes are also found in southern Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa and West Asia. Some medical conditions affect ones eye color. Protecting your eyes and getting regular check ups is important no matter the color of your irises. The Greek goddess Athene appears with gray eyes (). People with green eyes may also experience discoloration, however, this only occurs in eyes which are unhealthy. [7] Humans and other animals have many phenotypic variations in eye color. "They have all inherited the same switch at exactly the same spot in their DNA.". Light brown eye color is most common in Europe, West Asia, and the Americas. This article discusses where blue eyes come from and how having blue eyes may increase your risk for certain health conditions. Genetic research suggests that until about 10,000 years ago, pretty much everyone had brown eyes. Priscilla Vu, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Scientists have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6,000-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye . Blue eyes are mainly due to the low concentrations of melanin in the iris stroma. This is why hazel eyes can be mistaken as amber and vice versa. Blue eyes are most common in northern and eastern Europe, particularly around the Baltic Sea. Eye damage from UV and blue light appears to be related to your lifetime exposure to these rays, so wearing sunglasses that block 100% UV (and most blue light) should start during childhood, when possible. Eyes only appear to be these colors because of the way light strikes the layers of the iris and reflects back toward the viewer. If you've got blue eyes, you've got one of the rarest, but most coveted recessive genes in the world. The green color is from a combination of a blue hue from Rayleigh scattering and "yellow" from the yellow pigment called lipochrome. (An estimated 55 percent of all people . Different studies have shown that people with lighter iris color have higher chances of "age-related macular degeneration" than those with darker ones. For example, the film actor Lee Van Cleef was born with one blue eye and one green eye, a trait that reportedly was common in his family, suggesting that it was a genetic trait. If you have dark brown hair and brown eyes, you have something in common with most people around the globe. Green eyes: The most attractive eye color? October 2014. She specializes in cornea, cataracts, external eye disease, and refractive surgery. The brown eye colour is in the US the . Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The brown color comes from melanin, a pigment in our eyes that also gives a brown color to hair, skin and other cells. And in the end, we have gone through some maps provided by Unsafe Harbour made on basis of some scientific research on the matter of countries that have the most blondes and blue eyes as a percentage of population. This melanin is the brown pigment responsible for eye color, hair, and skin color. Dark brown eyes are dominant in humans. Because melanocyte cells continually produce pigment, in theory eye color can be changed. [26] Hazel eyes are more common in Spaniards, North Africa, the Middle East, and Brazil. For example, researchers are looking at the connection between having blue eyes and: Eye health providers remind almost everyone with blue eyes to wear sunglasses to reduce their risk of potential eye cancers like eye melanoma. Persons with albinism have very little or no melanin in the iris. Amber is the third-rarest natural eye color after green and gray, in 5% of the world's population. 2011;27(6):609-613. doi:10.1002/dmrr.1214. The mutation causes a lowered production of melanin which is a pigment located in the eyes that determines its color. While it is largely believed that human pigmentation has faced adaptive selection and been shaped by the environment and climate, the genetic causes and selective pressures responsible have been difficult to detect and resolve, a study in the journal Genome Biology commented. Although there are some claims that around 99% of Estonians have blue eyes, we have gone with the one probably more realistic assumption that around 64% of Estonian population has blue-grayish eyes. Even though amber is similar to gold, some people have russet or copper colored amber eyes that are mistaken for hazel, though hazel tends to be duller and contains green with red/gold flecks, as mentioned above. ", "Genotypephenotype associations and human eye color", No Single Gene For Eye Color, Researchers Prove, "Eye color definition Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms easily defined on MedTerms", "A three-single-nucleotide polymorphism haplotype in intron 1 of OCA2 explains most human eye-color variation", "Eye colour: portals into pigmentation genes and ancestry", "DNA test for eye colour could help fight crime", "Eye color and the prediction of complex phenotypes from genotypes", "Three genome-wide association studies and a linkage analysis identify HERC2 as a human iris color gene", "Digital Quantification of Human Eye Color Highlights Genetic Association of Three New Loci", "Frost: Why Do Europeans Have So Many Hair and Eye Colors? The amount of melanin, or pigment, a person has in their iris determines their eye color. As many as 16 genes influence eye color by determining the amount of melanin in the cells of the iris. The eyes of some pigeons contain yellow fluorescing pigments known as pteridines. Which country has the most people with blue eyes? Blond hair percentage: 75. has been associated with changes in eye color in up to 33 percent of those taking it for 5 years or longer . Researchers believe there is one ancestor responsible for this eye color. Pigmentation, the Pilous System, and Morphology of the Soft Parts", "A Single DNA Difference in the HERC2 Gene Explains Blue Eyes | Understanding Genetics", "How one ancestor helped turn our brown eyes blue", "All Blue-Eyed People Have This One Thing in Common", "Blue eyes are increasingly rare in America - Americas - International Herald Tribune (Published 2006)", "Don't it make my blue eyes brown Americans are seeing a dramatic color change", "Prediction of eye color in the Slovenian population using the IrisPlex SNPs", "Are gray eyes the same as blue in terms of genetics?". Eyeglass temples: How do you know if they're the right length? But lets not get things too scientific at this point. Blue eyes: Close to 8%-10% of people have blue eyes, with the US having a percentage of around 27%. Almost all humans have some brown in their eyes. Whether it is due to genetics or lifestyle factors, there are a lot of interesting things to learn about these stunning individuals and their unique heritage. [10][11] However, OCA2 gene polymorphism, close to proximal 5' regulatory region, explains most human eye-color variation. A chimera can have two different colored eyes just like any two siblings canbecause each cell has different eye color genes. Countries: Blue Eyes Percentage Can you name the countries with the biggest percentage of people with blue eyes? Redheads have fewer strands of hair on their heads. Quite a bit. Instead, the copper accumulates in the liver and in other tissues, including the iris of the eye. This results in the absorption of the longer wavelengths of light by the dark underlying epithelium and the reflection of shorter wavelengths. All About Vision and AllAboutVision.com are registered trademarks of AAV Media, LLC. [27] Green eyes contain the yellowish pigment lipochrome.[52]. It may take up to six months for the gene responsible for creating the pigment in the eyes to activate melanin production. [8], The genetics and inheritance of eye color in humans is complicated. However, the shade of brown varies depending on the portion of the world one resides in. These seemingly insignificant physical features are two of the most dominant characteristics of Sweden's population. If your current heating system yields cold hands and frozen toes it might be time to upgrade. One possible explanation for the difference in the appearance of gray and blue eyes is that gray eyes have larger deposits of collagen in the stroma, so that the light that is reflected from the epithelium undergoes Mie scattering (which is not strongly frequency-dependent) rather than Rayleigh scattering (in which shorter wavelengths of light are scattered more). Blue eyes aren't actually blue. WorldAtlas. In the U.S., that proportion is higher, at about 27%. The inheritance pattern followed by blue eyes was previously assumed to be a mendelian recessive trait, however, eye color inheritance is now recognized as a polygenic trait, meaning that it is controlled by the interactions of several genes. So, there's less worry of a vitamin D deficiency for redheads. Research has found that eye color may play a role in various areas of health and well-being. Percentage of Population with Blue Eyes Country Percentage of Population with Blond Hair; 89%: 80%: 75%: 78%: 65%: 75%: 90%: 70%: 85%: 70%: 65% . For just about everyone, the back layer of each eye is brown. [33] In humans, yellowish specks or patches are thought to be due to the pigment lipofuscin, also known as lipochrome. Gray eyes: A rare and beautiful eye color. Blue Eyes - 8 to 10%. A fascinating fact is that these eyes appear to shift color in different lighting. Melanin is also responsible for the color of our skin, eyes and hair. People with blue eyes may need to be extra diligent when it comes to protecting themselves from harmful UV rays and blue light. See More by this Creator. Hair and blue eyes may need to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment system! Traveling through the iris of the world & # x27 ; s less worry a. The front layer of each eye is called the iris however, this only occurs in eyes which are.! 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