Skip to main content

Discontinuing Multifocal Contacts Does Not Diminish Treatment Effect in Myopia

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 21, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2025 -- No evidence is seen for loss of treatment effect after discontinuing soft multifocal contact lenses in older teenagers with myopia, according to a study published online Jan. 16 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

David A. Berntsen, O.D., Ph.D., from the University of Houston College of Optometry, and colleagues examined whether there is a loss of treatment effect (rebound) after discontinuing soft multifocal contact lenses in the Bifocal Lenses in Nearsighted Kids 2 (BLINK2) cohort study involving 248 children (aged 11 to 17 years at baseline) with myopia who completed the BLINK randomized clinical trial. All children in the BLINK2 study wore high-add (+2.50 diopter [D]) multifocal soft contact lenses for two years and single-vision soft contact lenses during the third year to ascertain whether rebound occurred.

The researchers found that the mean axial length and spherical equivalent refractive error were 25.2 mm and −3.40 D, respectively, at baseline. Regardless of the original BLINK treatment assignment, axial elongation increased by 0.03 mm/year after participants switched from multifocal to single-vision contact lenses, and myopia progression increased by −0.17 D per year after switching to single-vision contact lenses. Throughout BLINK2, there continued to be a difference in axial length and refractive error based on the BLINK Study treatment assignment; shorter eyes and less myopia were seen in the original high-add group than in the original medium-add (+1.50 D) and single-vision groups.

These results "support fitting children with multifocal contact lenses for myopia control at a younger age and, when possible, continuing treatment until the late teenage years when myopia progression has naturally slowed," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the ophthalmic industry.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Microbial Keratitis Outcomes Affected by Delays in Presentation, Disease Severity

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- For patients with microbial keratitis (MK), initial vision, longer time to presentation, and larger stromal infiltrate size lead to a higher risk for...

Highly Aspherical Lenslet Spectacles Reduce Myopia Progression

THURSDAY, April 10, 2025 -- For children with myopia, wearing spectacles with highly aspherical lenslets (HAL) reduces the rate of myopia progression and axial elongation...

ACP: AI Recommendations More Often Better Quality for Virtual Care Visits

MONDAY, April 7, 2025 -- Artificial intelligence (AI) recommendations are more often rated as better quality than final recommendations of physicians for virtual care visits made...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.