The Relationship Between Vision and Comfort in Contact Lens Wear.

OBJECTIVE Understand relationship between vision and comfort in contact lens (CL) wear. METHODS Retrospective analysis of five trials using similar protocols with nonpresbyopic (NP) myopes or presbyopic participants (Px) wearing various simultaneous-image designs (SM) and single-vision (SV) CL (NP only). Questionnaires (vision satisfaction, vision clarity: distance/intermediate/near, comfort) on 1 to 10 scale were administered 1 week after fitting. Vision/comfort relationship was analyzed using linear mixed model and presented as regression coefficient with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS Vision ratings correlated with comfort ratings, although this varied depending on type of vision rating and Px category. Vision satisfaction influenced comfort for the NP-SV group (slope: 0.8; 95% CI: 0.58-1.01, P≤0.001), but was significantly lower in the presbyopic group (slope: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.33-0.42; P≤0.001). Controlling for lens material obtained similar results. In the reverse relationship, comfort had a significant impact on vision satisfaction, although again at varying levels for each Px group. NP-SV demonstrated the weakest relationship (slope: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.35-0.59, P≤0.001) in comparison to NP-SM and P-SM groups. CONCLUSION Vision and comfort in CL wear are inter-related. Consideration of Px characteristics, visual stimulus, and CL comfort needs to be accounted for when assessing overall CL experience.