Myopia progression slows as people hit their 30s, study finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Myopia progression among people who wear soft contact lenses is common for people in their 20s and less common as people enter their 30s, according to a retrospective study.

Researchers here analyzed data from 291 soft contact lens wearers between the ages of 20 and 40 to study the frequency of myopia progression. Enrollees in the study had at least -0.5 D spherical equivalent in both eyes, three or more refractions and 5 years or more of follow-up. Only data from the right eye were analyzed.

Mean baseline refractive error was -3.29 D. The study found that 21.3% of the patients progressed by at least -1 D over the 5-year period. The rate of progression decreased with increasing age (P = .006). People who progressed did not differ from those who did not in terms of hours per day spent reading and writing, computer use, education level, family history of myopia, age of onset of myopia or contact lens wear.

The study is published in the July issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.