How effective are these myopia control treatments?

Myopia control is an extremely hot topic in current eye research. That is, to find the best way in preventing or slowing vision deterioration for the current generation of children growing up in our digital world. Many studies have been conducted globally in the past several years to analyze and compare the effectiveness of different myopia control treatment strategies. This aim to reduce the progression of myopia (short-sightedness) in children and adolescents.

Naturally, different studies will report different findings and figures for effectiveness in treatment, depending on the variables such as sample size, demographics, subjects and study methodology.

Here is how the current myopia control strategies by optometrists compile across multiple studies. It is judged based on the percentage reduction in the rate of myopia progression (eg. 0% = no effect in slowing progression where as 100% = stops progression completely.

OrthoK corneal reshaping lenses: 45-100%
Atropine eye drops (inclusive of varying dose): 30-77%
Low-dose atropine eye drops: 59%
Dual-focus and multifocal soft contact lenses: 29-70%
Multifocal glasses in myopic children: 12-17%
Regular single vision glasses & contact lenses: 0-5%

The best forms of myopia control treatment are currently OrthoK overnight lenses, low-dose atropine eye drops, dual-focus daytime soft contact lenses and honey-comb design eye glasses.

OrthoK, dual-focus contact lenses and honey-comb design eye glasses are optical treatments. Atropine eye drops is a pharmacological treatment. These methods work differently. As a guide, all the mention above have an average effectiveness of around 50% in slowing the rate of myopia progression in young children.

What does a 50% reduction actually mean for your child?

50% reduction in myopia progression means we halve their prescription increase each year compared to no treatment or simply wearing standard single-vision glasses or contact lenses. For a child whose prescription is increasing rapidly at -1.00 per year, that reduces to -0.5. per year with myopia treatment in Singapore. While it may not sound like much, it is widely significant over a longer time frame.

Over an 10-year period, for example, from age 8 to 18. If a child’s myopia increases at a average rate of -1.00 per year (the actual may be faster at some year and less in other years), this child could have -10.00 degrees of myopia at age 18. Halving the progression means he or she has -5.00 degrees of myopia instead. There is a significant different in the child’s lifelong eye health risks between having -5.00 and -10.00 of myopia.

The risks of eye diseases associated with high myopia, such as retinal detachment and myopic macular degeneration, increase exponentially rather than linearly. Halving the degree of myopia from -10.00 to -5.00 reduces the risk of retinopathy (retina diseases) by a factor of 10. The graph below is for illustration purposes only.

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