Myopia Management Need in Germany

Abstract

Purpose: The increasing prevalence of myopia, particularly in Southeast Asia, and the predicted increase of the prevalence of myopia in Western countries mean that more children will benefit from myopia management. The current study evaluated by retrospectively analyzing electronic health records from eye health care practices in Germany how many children receiving single vision correction showed an annual myopia progression that indicates the need of myopia management (MM). Material and Methods: The Euronet database with a total data set of > 1 million orders from the years 2000 to 2020 served as the basis for the present analysis. The dataset was filtered by age (6 - 14 years), refractive errors and the presence of longitudinal order data (baseline and second visit after 11 - 24 months, n = 64,825). First, the database was filtered to only include children with a myopic refraction of the right eye (in terms of the SE) of −0.5 D or below (n = 52,936). Next, the database was divided into children with an annual progression of the SE of ≤ −0.5 D (as a criterion for the need of MM, n = 25,432) and children with an annual progression of > −0.50 D (n = 27,504), respectively. The number of children that require MM per shop per year was evaluated and the groups were further characterized with regards to the distribution of baseline SE and SE progression. Results: The analysis revealed that there are children of all ages who require myopia management, while their number increases with age, reaching a maximum at 10 to 11 years and declining afterwards (60 % of all children at age 7 and 30 % of all children at age 14, respectively). Children who have an early onset and high progression have baseline SE of around −1.50 D to −1.75 D and a second prescription SE of around −3.00 D. In contrast, children with later onset and lower progression have a similar baseline SE (average −1.62 D) but develop a second prescription SE of only around −2.00 D. Conclusion: Awareness of myopia, its progression and its potential impact on eye health needs to be raised in Germany. Even though the absolute number of children requiring myopia management is still rather low compared to other regions, the baseline refraction of myopic children is already very high. It is important to note that children who require myopia management benefit from efficient treatment options.