Comparative study on the quality of life and clinical efficacy of orthokeratology lens, defocus spectacle lens and single vision spectacles in myopic children and adolescents in China.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the vision-related quality of life and efficacy between myopic children and adolescents wearing orthokeratology (OK) lens, defocus spectacle (DS) lens and single vision spectacle (SVS).

Methods: This ambispective cohort study involved 93 participants who had worn optical correction lenses (31 OK lens, 31 DS lens and 31 SVS) for 1 year. The Pediatric Refractive Error Profile questionnaire was used to compare the visual-related quality of life after 1 year of lens wear among the three groups. Changes in axial length (AL) and spherical equivalent (SE) at 6 months and 1 year of lens wear across the groups were assessed.

Results: No significant differences were observed in academics and symptoms among the three groups (p>0.05). The OK lens group scored significantly higher in overall vision, far vision, appearance, satisfaction, activities, peer perception and overall scores than the SVS and DS lens groups (p<0.05). The DS lens group showed significantly lower scores in near vision compared with the OK lens and SVS groups (p<0.05). The OK lens group had a significantly lower handling score than the SVS group (p=0.01), with no significant difference between the OK lens and DS lens groups (p=0.184). In the 12th month, the axial length (AL) changes in the OK lens, DS lens and SVS groups were 0.18±0.08 mm, 0.27±0.08 mm and 0.36±0.09 mm, respectively (p<0.05). The OK lens group had the shortest AL elongation compared with the DS lens and SVS groups (p<0.05). The axial growth of the DS lens group was less than that of the SVS group (p<0.05). At both the 6th and 12th months, both the DS lens group and the SVS group showed an increasing trend in SE, with the SVS group exhibiting a significantly greater increase in SE compared with the DS lens group (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Although both the DS lens and OK lens can effectively control myopia, the OK lens demonstrates superior performance in improving vision-related quality of life and controlling axial elongation. This study is limited by the fact that the lens brands chosen by participants in the three groups were all commonly available brands on the market, and no single brand was selected for comparison.