Current Research on Myopia

Here you’ll find information to help you understand myopia, its causes and treatment options. To discuss myopia management, contact Insight Vision Center Optometry at (714) 486-3315 or use our online form.

Background About Myopia

• A landmark study published in 2015 by the National Institutes of Health confirmed a startling increase in myopia among American children.
• This journal offers an in-depth look at myopia and its increasing prevalence among children around the world. The article examines the role that genetics, ethnicity, outdoor time and screen time have on children’s vision.
• Researchers believe spending more time outdoors may reduce a child’s risk of developing myopia. This is especially important if your family has a history of shortsightedness. To learn more about the effects of outdoor time on myopia in children, refer to this article from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
• In 2019, a Vision Report released by the World Health Organization named the global rise in myopia as a major public health issue that requires more resources.

Eye Health Risks Related to Myopia

• Eye diseases linked to high myopia include glaucoma, retinal disease and cataracts, according to the National Institutes of Health.
• The biggest eye health threat linked to myopia is retinal disease. An NIH abstract summarized multiple clinical studies and concluded the threats of vision impairment and blindness will continue to increase significantly without an effort to stop the development and progression of myopia.
• To help you understand the risk for your child, this chart produced by Review of Myopia Management demonstrates the risk of developing serious eye diseases at different levels of myopia.

Myopia Treatments

• Many treatments have been effective at slowing or even stopping myopia from worsening in children. This article for parents offers a helpful overview of myopia management and recommendations.
• This report from the American Academy of Ophthalmology reviews results from using prescription eye drops for myopia treatment, which could be a good option for children who are young or whose myopia is progressing quickly.
• Overnight contact lenses have been used very successfully to slow myopia progression in children, as demonstrated by this large study. With this treatment method, children can see clearly all day without the need for contacts or glasses.
• Additional insight from the American Optometric Association supports the effective treatment of myopia in children with multifocal soft contact lenses.

Clinical Studies on Myopia Treatment

• This article from the International Myopia Institute discusses clinical studies used to evaluate treatments for myopia. One important finding from this examination is the importance of measuring eyeball length (axial length) when treating a child for myopia. Insight Vision Center Optometry has the advanced equipment needed to painlessly and quickly measure eye length.
• The effectiveness of using prescription eye drops to treat pediatric myopia is covered in the ATOM2 study.
• A long-term study of the efficacy of overnight contact lenses for myopia treatment followed children for up to 12 years. The study found that this method was “effective in slowing myopia progression … and demonstrated a clinically acceptable safety profile.”
• This abstract summarizes the results of a three-year trial that demonstrated that multifocal soft contact lenses efficiently slow myopia progression in children over multiple years.

• Vision-related quality of life of Chinese children undergoing orthokeratology treatment compared to single vision spectacle
  July 2020
  Objective To measure and compare the vision-related quality of life between Chinese children wearing orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses and single vision spectacles, to understand acceptance of ortho-k treatment by children in China. Methods Subjects of Chinese origin, with myopia of -5.00 to -0.75 D, astigmatism < 1.50 D were recruited. All subject…
• Orthokeratology in adults and factors affecting success: Study design and preliminary results
  May 2020
  Objective To report the study design and one month’s preliminary results of a randomized, single-masked, one-year prospective study of orthokeratology (ortho-k) in adults wearing lenses of different compression factors. Methods Adults aged 18–38 years, with myopia of −0.75 to −5.00 D and astigmatism < 1.50 D, were recruited and randomly assigned i…
• Global trends in myopia management attitudes and strategies in clinical practice – 2019 Update
  Nov 2019
  Purpose: A survey in 2015 identified a high level of eye care practitioner concern about myopia with a reported moderately high level of activity, but the vast majority still prescribed single vision interventions to young myopes. This research aimed to update these findings 4 years later. Methods: A self-administrated, internet-based questionnaire.
• Combined atropine with orthokeratology in childhood myopia control (AOK) – A randomized controlled trial
  Apr 2019
  Purpose : To present the initial 6-month results of a two-year randomized control trial, comparing the efficacy of combined 0.01% atropine with Orthokeratology (AOK) versus orthokeratology alone (OK) for myopia control. Methods : This is an examiner-masked, randomized control trial carried out in Hong Kong. Chinese children, aged from 6 to 11 year…
• A retrospective study on the effect of long term orthokeratology on ocular biometry
  Jun 2018
• Ocular higher-order aberrations and axial eye growth in young Hong Kong children
  This retrospective longitudinal analysis aimed to investigate the association between ocular higher-order aberrations (HOAs) and axial eye growth in Hong Kong children. Measures of axial length and ocular HOAs under cycloplegia were obtained annually over a two-year period from 137 subjects aged 8.8 ± 1.4 years with mean spherical equivalent refraction.
• Long-term effect of orthokeratology on the anterior segment length
  Feb 2016
  Purpose: To compare the effects of normal growth and longer-term use of orthokeratology (ortho-k) on ocular biometric parameters in the anterior segment, including central corneal thickness (CCT), anterior chamber depth (ACD), crystalline lens thickness (CLT), and anterior segment length (ASL).

Orthokeratology and Glaucoma

I hear you might be hearing conflicting evidence from different doctors. One doctor might recommend orthokeratology or atropine to treat your children’s myopia from getting worse. Another doctor discourages it and cites that it may lead to increased eye pressure which can lead to an increased risk of glaucoma!
Who to believe? It is certainly a conundrum for you as a diligent parent. Know that with our practice and Treehouse Eyes, we treat children’s vision very seriously and base all our treatments based on clinical evidence and not just our opinion.

There is currently no research that we have found that wearing orthokeratology lenses increases eye pressure or glaucoma.

Below are just a few studies that demonstrate just that.

• Intra–Ocular Pressure After Overnight Orthokeratology
• Orthokeratology And Intraocular Pressure

In fact, you can make the argument to no treatment with progressive myopia would increase the risk of glaucoma.

• High myopia as a risk factor in primary open angle glaucoma

Study after study after study demonstrates that orthokeratology safely and effectively reduces myopia progression in young children.

• Long-Term Effect of Overnight Orthokeratology on Axial Length Elongation in Childhood Myopia: A 5-Year Follow-Up Study
• Myopia control during orthokeratology lens wear in children using a novel study design
• Orthokeratology to Control Myopia Progression: A Meta-Analysis