A Retrospective Study of Myopia Progression in Adult Contact Lens Wearers

PURPOSE. To study retrospectively the frequency of myopia progression and risk factors for progression in a sample of adult contact lens wearers. METHODS. From a database of 815 soft contact lens wearers, patients were identified whose age was between 20 and 40 years, who had at least -0.50 D spherical equivalent of myopia in both eyes, three or more refractions, and ≥5 years of follow-up. Only data from the right eye were used. Progression was defined as an increase of at least -1.00 D over 5 years. Subjects were also asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their ocular history, demographics, family history, and the amount of time spent performing different tasks at home and at work. RESULTS. Two hundred ninety-one subjects met the eligibility criteria with a mean baseline refractive error of -3.29 ± 1.92 D and a mean age of 28.5 ± 5.0 years. Of these, 21.3% progressed by at least -1.00 D over the 5-year period. The 5-year rate of progression decreased with increasing age (X 2 = 12.44, P = 0.006). One hundred ninety-seven subjects (67.6%) completed and returned questionnaires. Progressors (N = 41) did not differ from nonprogressors (N = 156) in terms of hours per day spent reading and writing, computer use, education level, family history of myopia, age of onset of myopia, and contact lens wear. CONCLUSIONS. In this database of soft contact lens wearers, myopia progression was common for subjects in their twenties and less common for those in their thirties.