Red-light therapy may outperform ortho-k lenses in slowing childhood myopia progression, study finds

Repeated low-level red-light (RLRL) therapy may be slightly more effective than orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses in slowing myopia progression in children, as indicated by reduced axial length growth over a 2-year period, according to a study.

A recent study has compared the effectiveness of RLRL therapy and ortho-k lenses in controlling myopia progression among children aged 6 to 14. The study enrolled 138 children: 67 received RLRL therapy, and 71 used ortho-k lenses. Both groups had initial myopia of ≤-0.50 D and astigmatism ≤2.50 D, with follow-up data collected over 2 years.

Children undergoing RLRL therapy had significantly less axial length growth than those using ortho-k lenses. After 1 year, axial length growth in the RLRL group was 0.03 mm on average, compared to 0.28 mm in the ortho-k group. Although the difference between the 2 groups narrowed in the second year, RLRL therapy still maintained a lower overall axial length growth rate (0.10 mm per year) than ortho-k lenses (0.25 mm per year).

Reference
Sun JR, Du ZQ, Wu GY. Efficacy comparison of repeated low-level red-light therapy and orthokeratology lenses for myopia control. Optom Vis Sci. 2024;doi: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000002197. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39485347.