Can GP Contact Lenses Control
Myopia in Children?
Research has shown that GP contact lenses may be able to slow the progression of nearsightedness in some young people.
Adolescents who are myopic (nearsighted) typically have "progressive myopia" — that is, nearsightedness that becomes progressively greater over time. Some research studies have shown that wearing GP contact lenses can help control this myopia.
Although use of GP contacts won't cure or stop progressive myopia, indications are that they may slow its growth in some young people.
In these studies, myopia didn't progress as fast — or as much — in children wearing GP contact lenses, compared with children who wore soft contact lenses or glasses.
In Survey, Contact Lens Practitioners Recommend
GP Lenses for Children
An independent survey conducted in 2000 for the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association queried more than 3,300 top contact lens practitioners about myopia management with GP contact lenses. Of those surveyed:
- 69% believe that GP contacts may reduce the progression of childhood myopia.
- 76% say the #1 reason for recommending GPs to school-aged children is either to "slow the progression of myopia" or to "enhance vision."
What Research Says About Myopia Control
Although there have been several studies on myopia control with positive indications for GP contact lenses, the results have not been entirely conclusive.
A 2004 study led by Jeffrey J. Walline, OD, PhD, of The Ohio State University did not find a large difference between soft and GP lens wear, in that the GP-wearing young people experienced 40% less of an increase in myopia over a three-year period than a group wearing soft lenses. They also found that eye growth, which produces myopia, was not slowed by conventional GP wear.
However, studies by Walline and researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have found that myopia is reduced and eye growth slowed when orthokeratology lenses are worn at night only.
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[Page updated April 2013]
