Long-term Effects of Wearing Orthokeratology Lenses for More than 5 Years on the Progression of Childhood Myopia

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Purpose: To investigate the long-term effects of wearing orthokeratology (OK) lenses for more than 5 years on the progression of myopia and the elongation of axial length in children.Methods: The study included patients aged 6-12 years with myopia ranging from -0.5 D to -5.0 D and astigmatism of ≤ 2.0 D who had worn lenses for ≥ 5 years. A retrospective analysis was conducted comparing with a control group of similar demographics who wore glasses. Spherical equivalent (SE) changes were compared between 28 subjects (56 eyes) in the OK lens group and 37 subjects (74 eyes) in the control group. Additionally, changes in axial length (AXL), anterior chamber depth, and central corneal thickness were compared between 23 subjects (46 eyes) in the lens group and 24 subjects (48 eyes) in the control group.Results: The annual changes in SE were -0.21 ± 0.18 D/year in the OK lens group and -0.38 ± 0.17 D/year in the control group. The annual changes in AXL were 0.13 ± 0.09 mm/year in the OK lens group and 0.21 ± 0.10 mm/year in the control group, both showing significant differences (<i>p</i> < 0.001, <i>p</i> < 0.001, respectively). Within the lens group, further analysis based on age 11 was conducted. SE changes were -0.23 ± 0.18 D/year in those age < 11 and -0.13 ± 0.18 D/year in those age ≥ 11. AXL changes were 0.15 ± 0.10 mm/year in the younger group and 0.06 ± 0.06 mm/year in the older group with both showing significant differences (<i>p</i> = 0.048, <i>p</i> = 0.012, respectively).Conclusions: The progression of myopia and elongation of AXL were significantly inhibited in the OK lens group compared to the control group. Additionally, younger age within the lens group was associated with greater myopia progression and AXL elongation.