Color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency (CVD), is a genetic condition that affects a person’s ability to see colors correctly. The most common type of color blindness is red-green color blindness, which is caused by mutations in genes related to the photopigments in the cones of the eye responsible for perceiving red and green light.
The likelihood of being color blind is significantly higher in males than in females due to the way the genes associated with color vision are inherited. The genes for red-green color blindness are located on the X chromosome. Males have one X and one Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes.
Here’s how the inheritance pattern works:

1. X-Linked Recessive Inheritance: Since color blindness is an X-linked recessive trait, a male only needs to inherit one copy of the mutated gene from his mother to be color blind, as he has only one X chromosome. If his mother is a carrier (she has one normal and one mutated copy of the gene), there is a 50% chance that she will pass the mutated gene to her son.
2. Autosomal Dominant Inheritance: Some less common forms of color blindness are inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means that a person only needs one copy of the mutated gene to have the condition. However, these forms are less common than the X-linked recessive ones.
3. Female Carriers: Females are less likely to be color blind because they need to inherit two mutated genes, one from each parent, to have the condition. If they inherit only one mutated gene, they are carriers of the trait but do not typically experience color vision problems themselves.

In summary, the higher prevalence of color blindness in males is due to the simpler inheritance pattern on the X chromosome. Males have a higher risk of inheriting a color blindness gene because they only have one X chromosome, and therefore only one copy of the gene needs to be mutated for them to be color blind. Females, on the other hand, have two X chromosomes, so they are less likely to be color blind unless they inherit two mutated genes.

Boys are more likely to be color blind than girls because color blindness is usually inherited as an X-linked recessive trait. This means that the gene responsible for the most common forms of color blindness is located on the X chromosome.

Each individual inherits two sex chromosomes—one from the mother and one from the father. Boys inherit an X chromosome from their mother and a Y chromosome from their father, making them XY. If a boy inherits an X chromosome with a color blindness gene from his mother, he will be color blind because he doesn’t have a second X chromosome to provide a normal copy of the gene.

On the other hand, girls inherit two X chromosomes, one from each parent. So, if a girl inherits an X chromosome with the color blindness gene from her father, she would still have another X chromosome from her mother, which could carry a healthy copy of the gene. Thus, a girl would only be color blind if she inherits the mutated gene from both parents, which is less likely to happen compared to boys inheriting it from just one parent.

This is why color blindness is more prevalent in males than females. About 8% of males with Northern European ancestry are affected by some form of color vision deficiency, while the prevalence among females is much lower, estimated to be around 0.5%.