This study investigated the accuracy of using pre-treatment axial elongation and changes in refractive sphere in predicting myopia control success in orthokeratology. Axial length was the more accurate method for categorisation of slow, moderate or rapid progression, and fast progressors benefited the most from ortho-k wear.
The axial length growth trajectories modelled in this study revealed that regardless of a child’s age, a myopic shift of at least -0.85D and/or 0.74mm over three years suggests future myopia development. Read more about specific risk factors for younger children, and other ocular component findings in this large study of European children.
This cross-over study investigated children wearing highly aspherical lenslet (HAL) spectacle lenses versus single vision spectacles over three six-month periods. The HAL lenses showed consistent myopia control efficacy and no rebound effect when discontinued over one of the six-month periods.
Nightly use of atropine 0.01% was able to reduce myopia progression and axial elongation for Chinese children over 9 months. However, this study also found that refractive astigmatism may increase within the first 3 months of treatment as a result.
Teenagers in the Netherlands were able to spend time outdoors during the COVID pandemic but still significantly increased near work on digital devices.. This is expected to give an increase in myopia prevalence and progression in European teens but to a lesser extent than in Asia where there was restricted outdoor time with stricter lockdown.
This is the first meta-analysis to directly compare mean axial growth across studies, looking at how age and ethnicity contribute to differences. Current axial length growth charts differentiate by sex and ethnicity, with age being the key variable. The results indicate that mean annual axial length growth is 28% greater in Asian compared to non-Asian children., reaffirming the need for Asian-specific data.
With increasing use of axial length to monitor myopia progression, the ratio of refractive error change to axial elongation has important clinical implications. This systematic review determines this ratio and explores factors that influence it.
The age of onset of myopia influences the annual progression rate and is also race dependent. Delaying the onset of myopia can save approximately 0.75D a year on the final prescription reached, similar to the saving offered by myopia control methods.
Atropine 0.01% combined with orthokeratology slows axial elongation to less than 0.1mm/year over two years in Chinese children aged 6-11 years. This is the equal-longest study on this topic and first to measure potential mechanisms of pupil size and choroidal thickness. The largest effect of the combination occurred in the first 6 months.
In young adult myopes, Biofinity centre-distance +2.50 Add and NaturalVue multifocal contact lenses both showed reduced visual acuity in lower lighting and low contrast conditions, and especially with a glare source, compared to single vision. Reading rate under normal lighting was also reduced by 4-8%. The multifocal designs performed similarly, although Biofinity required more over-refraction for best distance acuity.
