GSLS2020 Part 3 – Vision lost and Vision saved by Myopia Control

Mark Bullimore (pictured in action above) presented some powerful data on the risk-to-benefit comparison of myopia control. He makes it look simple, but there’s loads of maths behind these numbers! As you might recall, Mark and Noel Brennan published last year entitled ‘Myopia Control - why 1 diopter matters’ based on their calculations on current studies showing an absolute effect of available treatments of 1D.

The bottom line from this new data?

• The high safety profile of contact lenses, particularly in children aged 8-12 (perhaps the safest wearers and our targets for myopia control intervention) means that the there are 5,000 to 10,000 years of vision loss PREVENTED by myopia control of 1D, compared to the risk of vision loss CAUSED by contact lens myopia control, which is 7-100 times less likely. The different incidences at the bottom of the first image are indicative of different levels of risk for various modalities.
• For which lens modality these correspond to, we’ll need to ask Mark as I know the incidence rates of MK without vision loss by modality
• Controlling myopia and reducing the final level of myopia by 1D results in reduced pathology risks as shown in the image.

This is more and more evidence for the WHY of myopia management. For more information on why each dioptre matters, check out our blog post. Mark's summary slide is also below. I know you all appreciate this imperative, but there’s still much work to do to get our colleagues on board. Spread the word! Myopia management is preventative eye health management.