No-line bifocals may slow myopia progression in some children

Wearing no-line bifocals may slow the progression of myopia in some children of myopic parents, according to a study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.

Daniel Kurtz, OD, PhD, of the New England College of Optometry, and colleagues examined the relationship between refractive error in parents and their children, as well as the effects of wearing progressive-addition lenses (PAL) or single-vision lenses (SVL) on the children's myopic progression. The study included 232 children who participated in the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial.

Researchers found a relationship between myopic parents and myopia progression in children wearing SVLs. Over 5 years, myopia in children with no myopic parents had progressed a mean -1.81 D; those with one myopic parent progressed -2.04 D. Children with two myopic parents had a significantly higher mean progression of -2.59 D as well as a significant increase in axial length compared with those with no myopic parents, according to the study.

In the PAL group, progression averaged -2.01 D overall and was not related to the number of myopic parents, the authors said. Among children with two myopic parents, myopia progression in the PAL group was significantly less than the SVL group, they noted.

"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," Dr. Kurtz said in a press release from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology announcing the study findings.