Dual-Focus Contact Lenses For Myopia Control May Alter Accommodative Response, Facility

The use of dual-focus soft contact lenses alters the dynamics of accommodative response and facility in patients with myopia, according to a study published in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye. 

The study included 24 adults with myopia (average age 20.5 years, 75% women) who were fitted with dual-focus soft contact lenses for myopia management (MiSight^®, CooperVision) and single-vision soft contact lenses (Proclear^®, CooperVision). All participants performed the same experimental procedure with the dual-focus (MiSight) and single-vision (Proclear) soft contact lenses. Both experimental sessions were conducted on 2 different days and followed a counterbalanced order.

The researchers found more lags of accommodation with the MiSight than the Proclear lenses at near distances (40 cm: 1.27±0.77 D vs 0.68±0.37 D, P = =.002, Cohen-d=0.90; and 20 cm: 1.47±0.84 vs 1.01±0.52 D, corrected P  =.007, Cohen-d=0.75). A higher variability of accommodation was found with the dual-focus than the single-vision lenses at 500 cm (0.53±0.11 vs 0.23±0.10 D), 40 cm (0.82±0.31 vs 0.68±0.37 D), and 20 cm (1.50±0.56 vs 1.15±0.39 D) (P <.001 in all cases, and Cohen-ds=0.67–2.33).

A worse quantitative (27.75±8.79 vs 34.29±10.08 cycles per minute, P =.029, Cohen-d=0.48) and qualitative (23.68±7.12 vs 28.43±7.97 score, P =.039, Cohen-d=0.45) performance was observed with the MiSight compared with the Proclear lenses, researchers note. 

The study reports several limitations. For one, these results cannot be extrapolated to other optical designs because a certain type of soft contact lens for myopia management was selected. Additionally, the long-term effects of wearing the MiSight lenses on the dynamics of the accommodative response and facility requires additional study. 

The research team recommends that clinicians should be aware of the acute effects of dual-focus contact lenses on accommodation performance when prescribing these lenses for myopia control.

Reference

Vera J, Redondo B, Galan T, et al. Dynamics of the accommodative response and facility with dual-focus soft contact lenses for myopia control. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. Published online October 18, 2021. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2021.101526