IMI Prevention of Myopia and Its Progression

Abstract

The prevalence of myopia has markedly increased in East and Southeast Asia, and pathologic consequences of myopia, including myopic maculopathy and high myopia-associated optic neuropathy, are now some of the most common causes of irreversible blindness. Hence, strategies are warranted to reduce the prevalence of myopia and the progression to high myopia because this is the main modifiable risk factor for pathologic myopia. On the basis of published population-based and interventional studies, an important strategy to reduce the development of myopia is encouraging schoolchildren to spend more time outdoors. As compared with other measures, spending more time outdoors is the safest strategy and aligns with other existing health initiatives, such as obesity prevention, by promoting a healthier lifestyle for children and adolescents. Useful clinical measures to reduce or slow the progression of myopia include the daily application of low-dose atropine eye drops, in concentrations ranging between 0.01% and 0.05%, despite the side effects of a slightly reduced amplitude of accommodation, slight mydriasis, and risk of an allergic reaction; multifocal spectacle design; contact lenses that have power profiles that produce peripheral myopic defocus; and orthokeratology using corneal gas-permeable contact lenses that are designed to flatten the central cornea, leading to midperipheral steeping and peripheral myopic defocus, during overnight wear to eliminate daytime myopia. The risk-to-benefit ratio needs to be weighed up for the individual on the basis of their age, health, and lifestyle. The measures listed above are not mutually exclusive and are beginning to be examined in combination.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.62.5.6
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Vision, Hearing and Language
College of Health & Life Sciences
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry & Vision Science Research Group (OVSRG)
Aston University (General)
Additional Information: Copyright 2021 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Atropine,Contact lenses,High myopia,Myopia,Myopia-associated optic neuropathy,Myopic macular degeneration,Orthokeratology,Pathologic myopia,Ophthalmology,Sensory Systems,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Publication ISSN: 1552-5783
Last Modified: 06 Dec 2024 08:25
Date Deposited: 11 May 2021 10:09
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Review article
Published Date: 2021-04-28
Accepted Date: 2020-12-26
Authors: Jonas, Jost B
Ang, Marcus
Cho, Pauline
Guggenheim, Jeremy A
He, Ming Guang
Jong, Monica
Logan, Nicola S (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-0538-9516)
Liu, Maria
Morgan, Ian
Ohno-Matsui, Kyoko
Pärssinen, Olavi
Resnikoff, Serge
Sankaridurg, Padmaja
Saw, Seang-Mei
Smith, Earl L
Tan, Donald T H
Walline, Jeffrey J
Wildsoet, Christine F
Wu, Pei-Chang
Zhu, Xiaoying
Wolffsohn, James S (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-4673-8927)

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