Health and Well-Being(Supplement)-Glasses may not affect progress of myopia
Many have long assumed, based on studies of animals, that the use of corrective lenses causes greater progression of nearsightedness. Because of this belief, parents have often delayed getting their children glasses for fear it would worsen their myopia.
But a study in a recent issue of Optometry and Vision Science says that the use of conventional spectacles has not been demonstrated to affect the progression of nearsightedness in children.
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a vision condition where near objects are generally seen clearly, but distant objects are blurred and do not come into proper focus.
"Myopia affects approximately one quarter of the U.S. population. Minus lenses are routinely prescribed by eye care practitioners for [myopia] correction," says Editha Ong, OD, PhD, who headed the study. "However, it has not been demonstrated whether the use of such lenses, while optically correcting for the myopia, might inadvertently lead to its exacerbation."
The study found no significant difference in myopia development among four groups of children over a time period. The study compared the three-year progression of nearsightedness in 43 juveniles. The subjects were divided into four categories: full-time spectacle wearers; distance wearers (subjects who only wore their corrective lenses for distance viewing); distance to full-time wearers (subjects who switched from distance to full-time wearing during the course of the study); and nonspectacle wearers.
The study did find that the earlier the age of myopic onset, the greater the progression rate. But when the data was adjusted to correct for the difference in the age of myopia onset, the subjects still showed no significant difference in progression.
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