International trends in daily disposable contact lens prescribing (2000–2023): An update

Abstract

PurposeDaily disposable contact lenses offer numerous benefits in terms of ocular health and wearer convenience. The purpose of this work is to update earlier surveys by describing global trends in daily disposable lens fitting between 2000 and 2023. MethodAn annual contact lens prescribing survey was sent to eye care practitioners in up to 71 countries between 2000 and 2023, inclusive. Data relating to 265,106 daily wear soft lens fits undertaken in 20 countries returning reliable longitudinal data were analysed in respect of daily disposable lens fitting. ResultsOverall, daily disposable lens prescribing increased over time, from 17.1 % of daily wear soft lens fits in 2000 to 46.7 % in 2023 (p < 0.0001). There were significant differences between countries in daily disposable lens prescribing (p < 0.0001), and between the percentage of males fitted with daily disposable lenses, as a proportion of all daily wear soft lenses (37.2 %), compared to females (35.2 %) (p < 0.0001). Daily disposable lens wearers are slightly younger at fitting than reusable soft lens wearers (31.0 vs 31.2 years, respectively) (p < 0.0001), although this difference is not clinically meaningful. Analysis of 50,240 daily wear soft lenses fitted recently (2019–2023) were found to be prescribed for the following replacement frequencies: daily – 47 %; monthly – 42 %; 1–2 weekly – 9 %; and ≥3 monthly – 2 %. ConclusionThere has been a substantial increase in daily disposable lens fitting throughout the first 24 years of this century. The gradual nature of this increase is commensurate with the staged introduction of daily disposable lens designs and expanded parameter ranges over the survey period.