SIGNIFICANCE
These findings suggest that repeated low-level red-light therapy holds potential as a new method for managing myopia in children.
PURPOSE
This study aimed to compare and analyze the efficacy of repeated low-level red-light therapy and orthokeratology lenses for myopia control in children.
METHODS
Exactly 138 participants were enrolled in this retrospective study. Comprehensive eye examinations were performed prior to treatment. The repeated low-level red-light therapy and orthokeratology lenses groups comprised 67 and 71 patients, respectively. The age range was between 6 and 14 years, with myopia of ≤−0.50 D and astigmatism of ≤2.50 D after cycloplegia. Follow-up data were collected during the initial visit and the treatment period. Changes in axial length over a 2-year period and associated factors were analyzed.
RESULTS
Over the 2-year period, the repeated low-level red-light therapy group exhibited significantly less axial length growth compared with the orthokeratology lenses group (0.17 ± 0.40 vs. 0.50 ± 0.27 mm, p<0.001). In the first year, the axial length growth in the repeated low-level red-light therapy group was significantly less than that in the orthokeratology lenses group (0.03 ± 0.22 vs. 0.28 ± 0.18 mm, p<0.001), with no significant difference observed in the second year (0.14 ± 0.29 vs. 0.21 ± 0.14 mm, p=0.06). The repeated low-level red-light therapy group showed a 55% reduction in axial length after 1 month and a 42% reduction after 1 year, compared with 4% and 3% reductions in the orthokeratology lenses group, respectively. Linear mixed-effects model analysis indicated that the annual axial length change rate in the repeated low-level red-light therapy group was 0.10 mm (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07 to 0.14), compared with 0.25 mm in the orthokeratology lenses group (95% CI, 0.24 to 0.27), with an average difference of 0.15 mm (95% CI, −0.17 to −0.12, p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Repeated low-level red-light therapy demonstrated slightly superior efficacy in controlling myopia progression in children compared with orthokeratology lenses.
