Spectacle Lenses Provide the Most Effective Treatment in Visual Impairment

Spectacle lenses are the most effective and commonly used low vision aids for visual impairment, according to a study published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. Even individuals with visual impairment who do not experience improved visual acuity with eyeglasses sometimes wear them for a variety of other reasons, the report shows.

Researchers enrolled 577 individuals (age range, 4-100 years; 54.70% boys and men) with mild (20.8%), moderate (34.0%), and severe (45.2%) visual impairment in the investigation. Study participants underwent a low vision evaluation and completed a functional vision assessment questionnaire to report the effect of their vision on daily activities.

Among 515 participants who received refractive error corrections, distance and near best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved significantly (mean difference, 0.28 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [logMAR]; P <.001 for both) following correction. A majority of study participants (64.7%) selected spectacle lenses as their primary low vision aid, while between 53.3% and 80.3% of participants combined eyeglasses another low vision aid.

Aside from refractive error correction, individuals who experienced improved vision with spectacle lenses also wore glasses for glare reduction (21%), contrast enhancement (17.4%), subjective distance clarity enhancement (12.0%), extended field of view (10.5%), magnification (10.2%), and strabismus management (5.9%).

A total of 106 participants did not experience vision improvement following refractive correction. Among these individuals, 26.4% still wore spectacle lenses for reasons including habit, appearance and self-confidence, according to informal interviews.

“When addressing patients’ needs, it appears that eyeglasses are the primary form of correction accepted by a majority of patients,” according to the researchers. “The lenses can be refined further to improve contrast, reduce glare, and expand the visual field. Combining the refractive correction with a low vision optical device can result in a reduced need for magnification, and hence a larger [field of view].” 

Study limitations include the use of convenience sampling and an ethnically homogenous cohort, which may limit the globalization of the study’s findings.