Axial Length Stabilization or Reduction in over 40% of Patients Wearing Extended Depth-of-Focus Contact Lenses

Background/Objectives: Preceding studies have reported the efficacy of multifocal contact lenses (MFCLs) in slowing myopia progression. Recently, a novel type of MFCL, i.e., extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) contact lens (CL), was designed. Here, we retrospectively investigated myopia progression associated with EDOF CL wear. Methods: Twenty-four consecutive myopic children (24 eyes; mean age, 13.9 years) received EDOF CLs to control myopia progression and participated in the study. We measured the axial length (AL), spherical equivalent (SE), and choroidal thickness (CT) at baseline and after 1 year of lens wear and compared the changes. Results: The mean baseline AL, SE, and CT were, respectively, 26.31 mm, -6.38 diopter (D), and 235 mu m, and at 1 year 26.40 mm (p = 0.03), -6.61 D (p = 0.05), and 244 mu m (p = 0.18). The AL decreased in 20.8% of cases (>=-0.05 mm/year), whereas 20.8% and 58.4% of cases had stabilization of the AL or an increased AL (>=+0.05 mm/year), respectively. The patients with a decreased AL engaged in a mean outdoor activity time of 200.6 min/day, the patients with an increased AL (>=+0.05 mm/year) engaged in a mean outdoor activity time of 126.7 min/day. The change in the AL was correlated significantly with the change in the CT (beta = -0.46, p < 0.05), and 80% of patients with a shortened AL had increased CT (>=+20 mu m/year). Conclusions: Our data showed that the AL stabilized or decreased in over 40% of myopic patients wearing EDOF CLs.