Myopia Progression in Children — Risks & Control Lenses

Is your child's myopia growing every year? Some children who develop short-sightedness keep progressing throughout their school years, secondary school included. And while the cost of yearly eye exams and new prescription glasses every year can be a burden for some families, the long-term risks linked to myopia progression can be even greater.

Most children are diagnosed with myopia late

Myopia is one of the most common eye disorders in the world. Its prevalence is roughly 30-40% among adults in Europe and the United States, and up to 80% or more in Asian populations, especially in China. And both the frequency and prevalence of myopia are rising. In the early 1970s, for example, only about 25% of Americans were short-sighted; by 2004 the prevalence in the United States had risen to around 42% of the population.

Classifying the severity of myopia

Myopia - like all refractive errors - is measured in dioptres (D), the same units used to measure the optical power of glasses and contact lenses. The lens powers for correcting myopia carry a minus (-) sign and are usually measured in steps of 0.25 D. Severity is often categorised as follows:

• Mild myopia: -0.25 to -3.00 D
• Moderate myopia: -3.25 to -6.00 D
• High myopia: greater than -6.00 D

Mild myopia usually does not raise a person's risk of eye-health problems. However, moderate and high myopia are sometimes linked to serious, sight-threatening side effects. When this happens in cases of high or very high myopia, the term degenerative or pathological myopia is used. Adults with high myopia usually started to show signs of it as young children, and their myopia progressed year by year.

Progression of myopia

Think of a child who wears glasses to see the board in class and needs stronger lenses every year. Interestingly, children who love to read may be at higher risk of early myopia.

Eye problems linked to myopia

Here is a brief summary of the important eye problems that are sometimes linked to myopia, particularly high myopia:

Myopia and cataract

In a recent study of cataract and cataract-surgery outcomes among Koreans with high myopia, researchers found that cataract tended to develop earlier in myopic eyes than in normal eyes. Eyes with high myopia also had a higher prevalence of coexisting disease and complications, such as retinal detachment, and visual outcomes after cataract surgery were not as good among the eyes with high myopia. In an Australian study of more than 3,600 adults aged 49 to 97, the odds of cataract rose significantly with greater amounts of myopia.

Myopia and glaucoma

Myopia - even mild and moderate myopia - has been associated with an increased risk of glaucoma. In the same Australian study, glaucoma was found in 4.2% of eyes with mild myopia and 4.4% of eyes with moderate-to-high myopia, compared with 1.5% of eyes without myopia. In a Chinese study, glaucoma was significantly associated with the severity of myopia: among adults aged 40 and over, those with high myopia had more than twice the odds of glaucoma of study participants with moderate myopia.

Myopia and retinal detachment

In a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers found that myopia was a clear risk factor for retinal detachment. Eyes with mild myopia had four times the risk of retinal detachment compared with non-myopic eyes; among eyes with moderate and high myopia the risk rose tenfold. The authors also concluded that nearly 55% of non-trauma retinal detachments were attributable to myopia.

Myopia and refractive surgery

Also, many people with high myopia are not suitable candidates for LASIK or other laser refractive surgery. (Very myopic individuals may still be good candidates for a phakic intraocular lens implant or other vision-correction procedures.)

What you can do about myopia progression

The best thing you can do to slow the progression of your child's myopia is to schedule annual eye exams, so the doctor can monitor when and how quickly the vision changes. Children with myopia often don't complain about their vision, so make sure to schedule the yearly exams even if they say they see fine. If your child's eyes change quickly or regularly, ask your doctor about myopia-control measures to slow the progression.

Special glasses that slow myopia growth in children

Over the last 8 to 10 years there has been a great deal of research and progress in the design of myopia-control spectacle lenses. Studies show these new special lenses can reduce myopia progression by more than 60%. Myopia-control glasses work by creating defocus in the periphery, slowing the elongation of the eye during a child's growth period. Myopia-control lenses that have been approved (by the US FDA and under the EU regulation on medical devices 2017/745) include:

• 1. Shamir Optimee

  Shamir Optimee uses Focusflow™ technology, with defocus zones and a central vertical channel, ensuring clear vision while remaining distortion-free.

• 2. Essilor Stellest

  Stellest uses HALT (Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target) technology to create myopic defocus.

• 3. Hoya MiYOSMART

  MiYOSMART uses D.I.M.S. (Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments) technology to create myopic defocus.

Prescription glasses for myopia

At Eye-Shop you will find the widest range of branded and value prescription frames suitable for myopia. With every frame you buy, we include the prescription lenses to your prescription free of charge.