New Developments Show Eye Care Community Embracing Myopia Management

Two recent publications indicate that the ophthalmology community is more broadly embracing myopia control and management.

The World Society of Paediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus (WSPOS) has issued its Myopia Consensus Statement 2023, concluding there is “sufficient evidence to warrant the adoption of myopia prevention and control measures in clinical practice in children with progressive myopia of childhood.”

Independently, Eye & Contact Lens, the ophthalmological peer-review journal of the Eye and Contact Lens Association, has published a paper affirming the corneal health of children who wear soft contact lenses in comparison to adult wearers.

“We applaud the WSPOS and Eye & Contact Lens decisions to publicly address these topics since myopia progression in children is one of the greatest ocular health issues of our lifetime. Ophthalmologists worldwide are taking a heightened interest in contact lens myopia control interventions, including increased prescribing of CooperVision MiSight® 1 day, alongside other management options such as orthokeratology, specialized spectacle lenses, and atropine,” said Elizabeth Lumb, director of Global Professional Affairs, Myopia Management, CooperVision.

The WSPOS guidance is based on studies that have demonstrated both statistical and clinical significance in the effectiveness of slowing myopia progression. In referring to MiSight 1 day, the authors share highlights from the landmark long-term, international MiSight 1 day clinical trial to convey its efficacy, including children aged eight to 12 who showed a 59% reduction in spherical equivalent refractive error over a three-year period, compared to single vision contact lenses.

In their Eye & Contact Lens paper, Incidence of Corneal Adverse Events in Children Wearing Soft Contact Lenses, myopia experts Mark Bullimore and Kathryn Richdale noted the growing interest in soft contact lens prescribing for children, in part due to specific eye care professionals through our learning platform, Leonardo,” said Olga Prenat, head, Medical and Professional Affairs and Vision Care Education, EssilorLuxottica. “We look forward to accomplishing more together this year to contribute to the widespread adoption of myopia management.”

Dr. Ken K. Nischal, WSPOS cofounder and division chief, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, and Adult Motility, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, said: “Myopia management is an extremely important component of WSPOS’s public health initiatives and we are delighted to have support from EssilorLuxottica for our Myopia IME.” use for slowing myopia progression. The investigators analyzed seven prospective and two retrospective peer-reviewed studies published from 2004 to 2022 on contact lens-related complications in children, totaling more than 6,000 years of wear among 2,781 patients.

They concluded that children wearing soft contact lenses are at no greater risk than adults for microbial keratitis, and their incidence of corneal inflammatory events appears to be markedly lower.

“This move echoes similar steps taken by the global eye health community in recognizing that we must treat myopia in children as early as possible, and at lower levels, to have the greatest long-term impact. It is particularly encouraging to see an increasing number of eye care-related professions recognizing the need to bring awareness to increasingly available evidencebased clinical interventions. Active participation by ophthalmologists is critical and we are encouraged about the gain being made there,” concluded Lumb.