Struggling with Myopia? Specialty Contacts Offer Long-Term Benefits for Teens

For those struggling to read road signs or hoping to write on a classroom whiteboard, there’s encouraging news. Effective treatments exist for myopia, and early detection can significantly help. Utilizing specialized contact lenses can aid in slowing the deterioration of long-distance vision. Previous uncertainty about whether these contacts would require indefinite use has been clarified by new research indicating that they do not.

Remarkably, even after individuals resumed using regular contacts, the benefits persisted.

Myopia, or nearsightedness, affects approximately one in three individuals in the United States. It typically emerges around age 8 and can worsen into the late teen years. Alarmingly, the proportion of affected individuals continues to rise, with projections indicating that six in ten Americans may develop myopia by 2050.

A contributing factor to this increase is our extensive screen use. Researchers in Korea recently reviewed 45 studies on myopia, encompassing over 300,000 participants with an average age of around 9 years. The findings revealed that every additional hour spent on screens daily increased the likelihood of developing myopia by about 21%. These results will be published on February 21st in Jama Network Open.

Currently, myopia is classified as a disease. Individuals with myopia face heightened risks of developing more severe eye conditions in adulthood, according to David Berndsen. “Anything you can do to slow it down is beneficial,” states Berndsen, an optometrist at the University of Houston, Texas, and author of a recent study on contact lenses. His team presented their findings on January 16th in Jama Eye Clinic.

“Multifocal” Contact Lenses

Myopia occurs when our eyes grow slightly longer than normal, changing from a rounded to an oval shape. This alteration causes difficulty focusing on distant objects, while nearby objects remain clear. Consequently, the lens no longer properly focuses light onto the retina but instead focuses it ahead of the retina.

A decade ago, Berndsen’s team collaborated with researchers at Ohio State University to investigate myopic vision in nearly 300 children aged 7 to 11. The objective was to determine whether eye elongation could be slowed.

One group of children was fitted with single-focus contact lenses to correct their myopia, enabling clear vision of distant objects.

The second group received multifocal lenses designed to focus in dual ways: the center corrects myopia, while the periphery allows light rays entering the eye to focus in front of the retina, signaling the brain to slow eye growth.

All participants wore their respective contacts for three years.

The study revealed that multifocal lenses significantly curtailed the progression of myopia, with children who used them having shorter eye lengths compared to those with single-focus lenses. However, the study did not ascertain the effects of discontinuing multifocal lenses.

Consequently, Berndsen’s group followed 235 children aged 11-17 who had been prescribed multifocal lenses. Two years later, these children transitioned to standard contacts for another year.

Each year, researchers monitored eye length and myopia progression. Results indicated that by age 17, children could stop using specialized contacts without declines in vision.

Advantages of Early Treatment

Myopia typically stabilizes around ages 18 or 19. However, numerous studies conclude before this stabilization, notes myopia researcher Pauline Kang from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She believes these new findings may fill gaps in existing research.

Grace Prakalapakorn also expressed satisfaction with the enduring benefits of early multifocal lens usage. She cautions that not all myopia treatments yield lasting results. As an ophthalmologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, she studies myopia in youth and emphasizes the need to explore all available treatment methods given the high prevalence of the disorder.

Nonetheless, treatment options are limited. Effective intervention is possible only while myopia is advancing. Early onset typically results in rapid progression, warns Berndsen. While intervention may be less effective for those starting treatment at ages older than 7 or 8, he still advocates for addressing myopia in individuals under 13.

Kang believes these findings assist doctors in making informed decisions about when to initiate and conclude treatment. Berndsen finds this aspect particularly exciting.

Moving forward, Berndsen aims to identify individuals at risk for myopia, which may enable doctors to delay or mitigate its progression. However, the simplest approach for children to manage myopia is to spend more time outdoors. Research consistently shows that engaging in activities that require both near and far focus, as is common outdoors, is beneficial.