Stronger myopic defocus contact lenses show short-term efficacy in slowing myopia progression

A new randomized clinical trial (RCT) suggests that Defocus Incorporated Soft Contact (DISC) lenses with +3.50 D myopic defocus (DISC3.5plus) may slow myopia progression in children, particularly over a 6-month period.

The study, conducted from December 2018 to January 2021, involved 167 myopic children who were randomly assigned to wear either DISC3.5plus lenses or single vision (SV) soft contact lenses. At 6 months, those in the DISC3.5plus group showed significantly reduced myopia progression (-0.15 D, P = 0.02) and axial elongation (0.04 mm, P = 0.04) compared to the SV group.

However, these effects were not statistically significant at 12 months for all enrolled participants. Among those who completed the study, myopia progression remained lower in the DISC3.5plus group at both 6 and 12 months, but axial elongation differences were not significant.

The researchers noted that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted contact lens use and follow-up, impacting the study’s long-term findings.

Reference
Zhang H, Leung KY, Leung M, et al. Myopia control using a modified optical defocus soft contact lens in schoolchildren-A 12-month randomised double masked control trial. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2025;doi: 10.1111/opo.13501. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40167121.