IMI-Global Trends in Myopia Management Attitudes and Strategies in Clinical Practice-2022 Update.

Purpose: Surveys in 2015 and 2019 identified a high level of eye care practitioner concern/activity about myopia, but the majority still prescribed single vision interventions to young myopes. This research aimed to provide updated information. Methods: A self-administered, internet-based questionnaire was distributed in 13 languages, through professional bodies to eye care practitioners globally. The questions examined awareness of increasing myopia prevalence, perceived efficacy and adoption of available strategies, and reasons for not adopting specific strategies. Results: Of the 3195 respondents, practitioners' concern about the increasing frequency of pediatric myopia in their practices differed between continents (P < 0.001), being significantly higher in Asia (9.0 ± 1.5 of 10) than other continents (range 7.7-8.2; P ≤ 0.001). Overall, combination therapy was perceived by practitioners to be the most effective method of myopia control, followed by orthokeratology and pharmaceutical approaches. The least effective perceived methods were single vision distance undercorrection, spectacles and contact lenses, as well as bifocal spectacles. Practitioners rated their activity in myopia control between (6.6 ± 2.9 in South America to 7.9 ± 1.2/2.2 in Australasia and Asia). Single-vision spectacles are still the most prescribed option for progressing young myopia (32.2%), but this has decreased since 2019, and myopia control spectacles (15.2%), myopia control contact lenses (8.7%) and combination therapy (4.0%) are growing in popularity. Conclusions: More practitioners across the globe are practicing myopia control, but there are still significant differences between and within continents. Practitioners reported that embracing myopia control enhanced patient loyalty, increasing practice revenue and improving job satisfaction.

Time outdoors positively associates with academic performance: a school-based study with objective monitoring of outdoor time.

BACKGROUND: To explore the relationship between outdoor time and academic performance among school-aged children. METHODS: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Data were derived from a school-based prospective children myopia intervention study (STORM). Outdoor time was recorded by self-developed algorithm-validated wristwatches in real-time and calculated as the cumulative average of 10 months. The academic performance was recorded and provided by the participating schools and further standardized. Other information was collected using an online standardized questionnaire. Mixed-effects model and B-Spline method were used to investigate the association between time spent on different types of daily activity, including outdoor activity and academic performance. RESULTS: A total of 3291 children with mean age 9.25 years were included in the final analysis. Overall, outdoor time was associated with academic performance in a non-linear manner; specifically, not exceeding 2.3 h per day, outdoor time was positively associated with academic performance; exceeding 2.3 h per day, this association became non-significant. Likewise, daily sleep duration and out-of-school learning time were associated with academic performance in a non-linear manner, resulting in turning points of 11.3 and 1.4 h per day, respectively. Separate analysis showed that outdoor time and sleep duration but not out-of-school learning time were positively associated with academic performance in Chinese, mathematics and English. CONCLUSION: Outdoor time, sleep duration and out-of-school learning time were associated with academic performance in a non-linear manner. Promotion of outdoor time may not negatively impact on academic performance. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Our study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02980445).

Improving population-level refractive error monitoring via mixture distributions.

INTRODUCTION: Sampling and describing the distribution of refractive error in populations is critical to understanding eye care needs, refractive differences between groups and factors affecting refractive development. We investigated the ability of mixture models to describe refractive error distributions. METHODS: We used key informants to identify raw refractive error datasets and a systematic search strategy to identify published binned datasets of community-representative refractive error. Mixture models combine various component distributions via weighting to describe an observed distribution. We modelled raw refractive error data with a single-Gaussian (normal) distribution, mixtures of two to six Gaussian distributions and an additive model of an exponential and Gaussian (ex-Gaussian) distribution. We tested the relative fitting accuracy of each method via Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and then compared the ability of selected models to predict the observed prevalence of refractive error across a range of cut-points for both the raw and binned refractive data. RESULTS: We obtained large raw refractive error datasets from the United States and Korea. The ability of our models to fit the data improved significantly from a single-Gaussian to a two-Gaussian-component additive model and then remained stable with ≥3-Gaussian-component mixture models. Means and standard deviations for BIC relative to 1 for the single-Gaussian model, where lower is better, were 0.89 ± 0.05, 0.88 ± 0.06, 0.89 ± 0.06, 0.89 ± 0.06 and 0.90 ± 0.06 for two-, three-, four-, five- and six-Gaussian-component models, respectively, tested across US and Korean raw data grouped by age decade. Means and standard deviations for the difference between observed and model-based estimates of refractive error prevalence across a range of cut-points for the raw data were -3.0% ± 6.3, 0.5% ± 1.9, 0.6% ± 1.5 and -1.8% ± 4.0 for one-, two- and three-Gaussian-component and ex-Gaussian models, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Mixture models appear able to describe the population distribution of refractive error accurately, offering significant advantages over commonly quoted simple summary statistics such as mean, standard deviation and prevalence.

Normative data and percentile curves for axial length and axial length/corneal curvature in Chinese children and adolescents aged 4-18 years.

PURPOSE: To develop age-specific and gender-specific reference percentile charts for axial length (AL) and AL/corneal radius of curvature (AL/CR) and, to use percentiles to determine probability of myopia and estimate refractive error (RE). METHODS: Analysis of AL, cycloplegic RE and CR of 14 127 Chinese participants aged 4-18 years from 3 studies. AL and AL/CR percentiles estimated using Lambda-Mu-Sigma method and compared for agreement using intraclass correlation (ICC). Logistic regression was used to model risk of myopia based on age, gender, AL and AL/CR percentiles. Accuracy of AL progression and RE estimated using percentiles was validated using an independent sample of 5742 eyes of children aged 7-10 years. RESULTS: Age-specific and gender-specific AL and AL/CR (3rd, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 95th) percentiles are presented. Concordance between AL and AL/CR percentiles improved with age (0.13 at 4 years to >0.75 from 13 years) and a year-to-year change was observed for all except <10th percentile from 15 years. Increasing age, AL and AL/CR was associated with a more myopic RE (r2=0.45,0.70 and 0.83, respectively). The sensitivity and specificity of the model to estimate probability of myopia was 86.0% and 84.5%, respectively. Estimation of 1-year change in AL using percentiles correlated highly with actual AL (ICC=0.98). Concordance of estimated to actual RE was high (ICC=0.80) and within ±0.50D and ±1.0D of actual RE for 47.4% and 78.9% of eyes, respectively. CONCLUSION: Age-specific and gender-specific AL and AL/CR percentiles provide reference data, aid in identifying and monitoring individuals at risk of myopia and have utility in screening for myopia. AL/CR percentiles were more accurate in estimating probability of myopia in younger children.

Spectacle Lenses With Highly Aspherical Lenslets for Slowing Myopia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Cross-Over Clinical Trial: Parts of these data were presented as a poster at the Annual Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting, 2022.

PURPOSE: To evaluate myopia progression with highly aspherical lenslet (HAL) spectacles vs conventional single vision (SV) spectacles. DESIGN: Prospective, double-blind, single-center, randomized, cross-over trial. METHOD: A total of 119 Vietnamese children (7-13 years of age, spherical equivalent refractive error [SE] = -0.75 to -4.75D) were randomized to wear either HAL or SV, and after 6 months (stage 1) crossed over to the other lens for another 6 months (stage 2). At the end of stage 2, both groups wore HAL for a further 6 months. In the order that lenses were worn at each stage, group 1 was designated HSH (HAL-SV-HAL) and group 2 SHH (SV-HAL-HAL). The main outcome measures were a comparison between HAL and SV for change (Δ) in SE and axial length (AL) during each stage; and a comparison of ΔSE/AL with SV between HSH and SHH groups to determine whether myopia rebounded when switched from HAL to SV (HSH group). RESULTS: Myopia progressed more slowly with HAL than with SV during stages 1 and 2 (SEΔ stage 1: -0.21 vs -0.27D, P = .317, stage 2: -0.05 vs -0.32D, P < .001; ALΔ stage 1: 0.07 vs 0.14 mm, P = .004; stage 2: 0.04 vs 0.17 mm, P < .001). ΔSE/AL with SV was not different between the HSH and SHH groups (ΔSE -0.33 ± 0.27D vs -0.27 ± 0.42D, P = .208; ΔAL 0.17 ± 0.13mm vs 0.13 ± 0.15 mm, P = .092). An average of 14 hours per day of lens wear was reported with both lenses. CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-over trial, intergroup and intragroup comparisons indicate that HAL slows myopia. Children were compliant with lens wear, and data were not suggestive of rebound when patients were switched from HAL to SV.

Efficacy of contact lenses for myopia control: Insights from a randomised, contralateral study design.

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of two myopia control contact lenses (CL) compared with a single-vision (SV) CL. METHODS: Ninety-five Chinese children with myopia, aged 7-13 years in a 1-year prospective, randomised, contralateral, cross-over clinical trial with 3 groups; bilateral SVCL (Group I); randomised, contralateral wear of an extended depth of focus (EDOF) CL and SVCL (Group II) and MiSight® CL and SVCL (Group III). In Groups II and III, CL were crossed over at the 6-month point (Stage 1) and worn for a further 6 months (Stage 2). Group I wore SVCL during both stages. At baseline and the end of each stage, cycloplegic spherical equivalent refractive error (SE) and axial length (AL) were measured. Six-monthly ΔSE/ΔAL across groups was analysed using a linear mixed model (CL type, stage, eye and eye* stage included as factors). Intra-group paired differences between eyes were determined. RESULTS: In Group I, mean (SD) ΔSE/ΔAL with SVCL was -0.41 (0.28) D/0.13 (0.09) mm and -0.25 (0.27) D/0.16 (0.09) mm for stages 1 and 2, with a mean paired difference between eyes of 0.01 D/0.01 mm and 0.05 D/-0.01 mm, respectively. ΔSE/ΔAL with SVCL was similar across Groups I to III (Stage 1: p = 0.89/0.44, Stage 2: p = 0.70/ 0.64). In Groups II and III, ΔSE/ΔAL was lower with the EDOF and MiSight® CL than the contralateral SVCL in 68% to 94% of participants, and adjusted 6-month ΔSE/ΔAL with EDOF was similar to MiSight® (p = 0.49/0.56 for ΔSE/ΔAL, respectively). Discontinuations across the three groups were high, but not different between the groups (33.3%, 48.4% and 50% for Groups I to III, respectively [p = 0.19]) and most discontinuations occurred immediately after baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Extended depth of focus and MiSight® CL demonstrated similar efficacy in slowing myopia. When switched from a myopia control CL to SVCL, myopia progression was similar to that observed with age-matched wearers in SVCL and not suggestive of rebound.

Time Outdoors in Reducing Myopia: A School-Based Cluster Randomized Trial with Objective Monitoring of Outdoor Time and Light Intensity.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of time outdoors per school day over 2 years on myopia onset and shift. DESIGN: A prospective, cluster-randomized, examiner-masked, 3-arm trial. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6295 students aged 6 to 9 years from 24 primary schools in Shanghai, China, stratified and randomized by school in a 1:1:1 ratio to control (n = 2037), test I (n = 2329), or test II (n = 1929) group. METHODS: An additional 40 or 80 minutes of outdoor time was allocated to each school day for test I and II groups. Children in the control group continued their habitual outdoor time. Objective monitoring of outdoor and indoor time and light intensity each day was measured with a wrist-worn wearable during the second-year follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 2-year cumulative incidence of myopia (defined as cycloplegic spherical equivalent [SE] of ≤-0.5 diopters [D] in the right eye) among the students without myopia at baseline and changes in SE and axial length (AL) after 2 years. RESULTS: The unadjusted 2-year cumulative incidence of myopia was 24.9%, 20.6%, and 23.8% for control, test I, and II groups, respectively. The adjusted incidence decreased by 16% (incidence risk ratio [IRR], 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72-0.99; P = 0.035) in test I and 11% (IRR = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.79-0.99; P = 0.041) in test II when compared with the control group. The test groups showed less myopic shift and axial elongation compared with the control group (test I: -0.84 D and 0.55 mm, test II: -0.91 D and 0.57 mm, control: -1.04 D and 0.65 mm). There was no significant difference in the adjusted incidence of myopia and myopic shift between the 2 test groups. The test groups had similar outdoor time and light intensity (test I: 127 ± 30 minutes/day and 3557 ± 970 lux/minute; test II: 127 ± 26 minutes/day and 3662 ± 803 lux/minute) but significantly more outdoor time and higher light intensity compared with the control group (106 ± 27 minutes/day and 2984 ± 806 lux/minute). Daily outdoor time of 120 to 150 minutes at 5000 lux/minutes or cumulative outdoor light intensity of 600 000 to 750 000 lux significantly reduced the IRR by 15%～ 24%. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing outdoor time reduced the risk of myopia onset and myopic shifts, especially in nonmyopic children. The protective effect of outdoor time was related to the duration of exposure and light intensity. The dose-response effect between test I and test II was not observed probably because of insufficient outdoor time achieved in the test groups, which suggests that proper monitoring on the compliance on outdoor intervention is critical if one wants to see the protective effect.

Prevalence of myopia and high myopia, and the association with education: Shanghai Child and Adolescent Large-scale Eye Study (SCALE): a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To report on: (a) overall myopia and high myopia prevalence, and (b) the impact of education on the spherical equivalent refractive error in children across Shanghai. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Across all 17 districts of Shanghai. PARTICIPANTS: 910 245 children aged 4-14 years from a school-based survey conducted between 2012 and 2013. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Data of children with non-cycloplegic autorefraction, visual acuity assessment and questionnaire were analysed (67%, n=6 06 476). Prevalence of myopia (≤-1.0 D) and high myopia (≤-5.0 D) was determined. We used a regression discontinuity design to determine the impact of school entry cut-off date (1 September) by comparing refractive errors at each age, for children born pre-September to post-1 September, and performed a multivariate analysis to explore risk factors associated with myopia. Data analysis was performed in 2017-2018. RESULTS: Prevalence rates of myopia and high myopia were 32.9% (95% CI: 32.8% to 33.1%) and 4.2% (95% CI: 4.1% to 4.2%), respectively. From 6 years of age onwards, children born pre-September were more myopic compared with those born post-1 September (ahead in school by 1 year, discontinuity at 6 years: -0.19 D (95% CI: -0.09 to -0.30 D); 14 years: -0.67 D (95% CI: -0.21 to -1.14 D)). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that myopia is associated with education, that is primarily focused on near-based activities. Efforts to reduce the burden should be directed to public awareness, reform of education and health systems.

Exploring non-adherence to contact lens wear schedule: Subjective assessments and patient related factors in children wearing single vision and myopia control contact lenses.

PURPOSE: To determine factors associated with non-adherence to contact lens wear schedule involving single vision and myopia control contact lenses in children. METHODS: Data from 379 children enrolled in a prospective, double masked, randomized clinical trial, aged 8-13 years, cycloplegic spherical equivalent of -0.75 to -3.50D and wearing either: single vision silicone hydrogel (SiH) CL (control lens); two anti-myopia SiH CL that incorporated relative plus in the central and periphery in a stepped manner (test lens I and II); and two extended depth of focus hydrogel CL (test lens III and IV) was considered. A questionnaire was administered to the participants at every scheduled visit and gathered information on days of wear/week and subjective assessments of ocular comfort and visual quality on an analog scale of 1-10.Participants were categorized as "Adherent" when lens wear was ≥ 6 days/week or "Non-adherent" when lens wear ≤ 5 days/week. Categorized adherence data was summarized as a percentage across visits for each CL type. Differences between the two groups were analyzed using linear mixed model. RESULTS: For the control lens, 79.6 % participants were adherent as compared to 63.7%-74.6% with test lenses (p=0.026). Non-adherence was greater in those that discontinued (p<0.001). Subjective ratings of visual quality for static and dynamic tasks were lower with non-adherent wearers and more variable between visits. Ocular comfort was also poorer in non-adherent wearers irrespective of lens material or lens design. Male gender, lower baseline myopia, lower high contrast visual acuity and esophoria were associated with a higher risk of non-adherence. CONCLUSIONS: The study identified a wide range of factors associated with non-adherence to lens wear schedule. Paying specific attention to these factors when evaluating patients for CL wear and taking steps to ensure satisfaction in lens wear may promote longer term continuation of wear.

Myopia control with novel central and peripheral plus contact lenses and extended depth of focus contact lenses: 2 year results from a randomised clinical trial.

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine myopia control efficacy with novel contact lenses (CL) that (1) reduced both central and peripheral defocus, and (2) provided extended depth of focus with better global retinal image quality for points on, and anterior to, the retina and degraded for points posterior to the retina. METHODS: Children (n = 508, 8-13 years) with cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) -0.75 to -3.50D were enrolled in a prospective, double blind trial and randomised to one of five groups: (1) single vision, silicone hydrogel (SH) CL; (2) two groups wearing SH CL that imposed myopic defocus across peripheral and central retina (test CL I and II; +1.00D centrally and +2.50 and +1.50 for CL I and II at 3 mm semi-chord respectively); and (3) two groups wearing extended depth of focus (EDOF) hydrogel CL incorporating higher order aberrations to modulate retinal image quality (test CL III and IV; extended depth of focus of up to +1.75D and +2.50D respectively). Cycloplegic autorefraction and axial length (AL) measurements were conducted at six monthly intervals. Compliance to lens wear was assessed with a diary and collected at each visit. Additionally, subjective responses to various aspects of lens wear were assessed. The trial commenced in February 2014 and was terminated in January 2017 due to site closure. Myopia progression over time between groups was compared using linear mixed models and where needed post hoc analysis with Bonferroni corrections conducted. RESULTS: Myopia progressed with control CL -1.12 ± 0.51D/0.58 ± 0.27 mm for SE/AL at 24 months. In comparison, all test CL had reduced progression with SE/AL ranging from -0.78D to -0.87D/0.41-0.46 mm at 24 months (AL: p < 0.05 for all test CL; SE p < 0.05 for test CL III and IV) and represented a reduction in axial length elongation of about 22% to 32% and reduction in spherical equivalent of 24% to 32%. With test CL, a greater slowing ranging from 26% to 43% was observed in compliant wearers (≥6 days per week; Control CL: -0.64D/0.30 mm and -1.14D/0.58 mm vs test CL: -0.42D to -0.47D/0.12-0.18 mm and -0.70 to -0.81D/0.19-0.25 mm at 12 and 24 months respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Contact lenses that either imposed myopic defocus at the retina or modulated retinal image quality resulted in a slower progression of myopia with greater efficacy seen in compliant wearers. Importantly, there was no difference in the myopia control provided by either of these strategies.

Shanghai Time Outside to Reduce Myopia trial: design and baseline data.

IMPORTANCE: Myopia is a major public health concern worldwide, while outdoor time is indicated to be protective against the onset of myopia. BACKGROUND: To describe the methodology and baseline data of the Shanghai Time Outside to Reduce Myopia (STORM) trial. DESIGN: A 2-year, school-based, prospective, cluster randomized trial. PARTICIPANTS: Children from grade I and II classes of 24 schools from eight districts in Shanghai, China, were randomized to either a control group, a test group I (40-min outdoor time/day) or test group II (80-min outdoor time/day). METHODS: At baseline and annual intervals, cycloplegic autorefraction and axial length measurement will be performed. Time outdoors and light exposure will be monitored via parent/carer questionnaires and a wearable device. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Spherical equivalent, prevalence of myopia and time outdoors in each group. RESULTS: A total of 6295 eligible children (age 7.2 ± 0.7 y [6-9 y]) were randomized to control (n = 2037), test group I (n = 2329) and test group II (n = 1929). At baseline, spherical equivalent was +0.98 ± 1.02D, +1.02 ± 1.02D and +1.00 ± 0.99D (P = 0.708), myopia prevalence was 8.9, 7.7 and 7.8% (P = 0.270) and time outdoors was 58.5 ± 35.8, 59.8 ± 34.7 and 58.5 ± 35.3 min/d (P = 0.886) for control, test groups I and II, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Myopia prevalence was high at nearly 8 to 9% in school children aged 7 years in Shanghai, China. The current trial will help evaluate if increased time outdoors has a role to play in reducing the incidence of myopia and/or slow the progression of myopia.

Short-term clinical comparison of two dual-disinfection multipurpose disinfecting solutions.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the short-term clinical performance of two dual-disinfectant multipurpose disinfecting solutions (MPDS) when used in conjunction with two silicone hydrogel contact lenses. METHODS: Participants wore galyfilcon A and balafilcon A lenses, randomly allocated one type to each eye. Multipurpose disinfecting solutions were double-masked and allocated using a randomized crossover design. Lenses were presoaked overnight in the allocated MPDS, containing either polyquaternium-1/alexidine dihydrochloride (PQ-alexidine) or polyquaternium-1/myristamidopropyl dimethylamine (PQ-MAPDA). Lenses were worn daily for 4 days and disinfected with the same MPDS in which they had been soaked. Clinical assessments occurred immediately after insertion, 2 hours after insertion, and after 2 hours of wear on day 4. Subjective ratings were collected at each assessment and after 6 hours of wear on days 1 to 3. Linear mixed models were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Solution-induced corneal staining (SICS) incidence was significantly different between MPDS lens combinations (P=0.01) with PQ-MAPDA-balafilcon A showing the highest incidence (27.8%). The incidence of SICS was significantly higher when balafilcon A lenses were worn compared with galyfilcon A (19.4% vs. 2.8%; P=0.04). There was no significant difference in SICS incidence between MPDS (PQ-alexidine=5.6%, PQ-MAPDA=16.7%; P=0.08). Polyquaternium-1/alexidine dihydrochloride was associated with significantly fewer symptoms of burning/stinging (9.7±0.6 vs. 9.1±2.2; P=0.03) and self-assessed redness (9.8±0.5 vs. 9.2±1.9; P=0.03) on initial lens insertion. There were no significant differences between MPDS for comfort ratings (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: These short-term clinical results provide an initial indication that PQ-alexidine is associated with fewer symptoms on insertion but no significant difference in ocular comfort compared with PQ-MAPDA. Longer studies are required to provide further evidence.