A placebo-controlled trial of tinted lenses in adolescents with good and poor academic performance: reading accuracy and speed

Abstract

Purpose A placebo-controlled, double-masked study was designed in order to evaluate the effect of tinted lenses in adolescents with good and poor academic performance. Methods Teenagers from two different age groups were enrolled in this study, after ascertaining that no uncorrected visual anomalies were present. A rate of reading test was developed for Catalan as a first language and students were asked to read it aloud, in two different sessions. Students first read the test without lenses and, later, they read it again without lenses, with their lenses of choice and with a placebo set of clear lenses. Reading speed and accuracy were monitored. Results No significant difference was encountered between the baseline reading speed and accuracy from the first and second sessions, thus ruling out any effect due to experience or training. When comparing reading speed and accuracy without lenses, in placebo conditions, and with tinted lenses, reading accuracy was discovered to be more sensitive than reading speed in order to differentiate between these conditions. These differences were more noticeable when the group with poor academic performance was evaluated, in contrast to the group with good academic performance or the whole group. Conclusion It was concluded that reading accuracy should be evaluated as well as reading speed and that lenses were more beneficial if only adolescents with poor academic performance were targeted.