Juvenile Onset Myopia may Be Due to Parental Refractive Error

Progression of myopia is slower in children who wear a special kind of no-line bifocal lenses than those who wear more conventional lenses according to a new study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS). Researchers from New England College of Optometry, Pennsylvania College of Optometry; University of Alabama School of Optometry; University of Houston College of Optometry; and State University of New York Stony Brook, Department of Preventive Medicine conducted the five-year study.

The study found that among children with two myopic parents, myopia progression was slower in children wearing progressive-addition lenses (PALs) when compared to those wearing single-vision lenses (SVLs). Knowing parental myopia may be helpful when deciding which myopic children are likely to benefit from special lenses.

232 of the 469 child participants in this study were aged 11 to 16 who were recruited for the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial (COMET). Among the children included in this study, 87 (37.5 percent) had two myopic parents.

'This study shows that parental refractive error should now be added to the constellation of factors which are related to the progression of juvenile onset myopia,' said researcher Dan Kurtz of the New England College of Optometry.

Source-Eurekalert
PRI/S