Modern approaches to childhood myopia control: A review

Childhood myopia is a rising global public health concern. High myopia carries serious lifetime risks of vision loss from myopia-associated ocular diseases, making myopia control a public health priority. Over the past 20 years, extensive research has produced a number of useful methods for managing childhood myopia, including more time spent outdoors, atropine eye drops, dual-focus and multifocal contact lenses, orthokeratology lenses, and specialty spectacle lenses. Although the effectiveness of these approaches varies, there is mounting evidence that they may help children with myopia, even though none can totally stop myopia progression. The US Food and Drug Administration currently approves only dual-focus contact lenses for myopia management in the US. Global regulatory clearance of these therapies would enable widespread, early intervention in children at risk and may lower the chance of vision loss from myopia-related issues later in life.