Multifocal Contact Lens Myopia Control

ABSTRACT Purpose Previous studies on soft multifocal contact lens myopia control published in the peer‐reviewed literature reported findings of noncommercial contact lenses worn for 1 year or less. This study sought to determine the progression of myopia and axial elongation of children fitted with commercially available distance center soft multifocal contact lenses for 2 years. Methods Eight‐ to eleven‐year‐old children with −1.00 D to −6.00 D spherical component and less than 1.00 D astigmatism were fitted with soft multifocal contact lenses with a +2.00 D add (Proclear Multifocal “D”; CooperVision, Fairport, NY). They were age‐ and gender‐matched to participants from a previous study who were fitted with single‐vision contact lenses (1 Day Acuvue; Vistakon, Jacksonville, FL). A‐scan ultrasound and cycloplegic autorefraction were performed at baseline, after 1 year, and after 2 years. Multilevel modeling was used to compare the rate of change of myopia and axial length between single‐vision and soft multifocal contact lens wearers. Results Forty participants were fitted with soft multifocal contact lenses, and 13 did not contribute complete data (5 contributed 1 year of data). The adjusted mean ± standard error spherical equivalent progression of myopia at 2 years was −1.03 ± 0.06 D for the single‐vision contact lens wearers and −0.51 ± 0.06 for the soft multifocal contact lens wearers (p < 0.0001). The adjusted mean axial elongation was 0.41 ± 0.03 and 0.29 ± 0.03 for the single‐vision and soft multifocal contact lens wearers, respectively (p < 0.0016). Conclusions Soft multifocal contact lens wear resulted in a 50% reduction in the progression of myopia and a 29% reduction in axial elongation during the 2‐year treatment period compared to a historical control group. Results from this and other investigations indicate a need for a long‐term randomized clinical trial to investigate the potential for soft multifocal contact lens myopia control.