Myopia care gaps persist despite stronger Asian risk data

Each dioptre of myopia carries greater vision loss risk in Asia than in Western populations, study finds.

Myopia management needs better patient targeting as average treatment results can hide children who respond poorly or not at all, said Ian Flitcroft, Professor and Paediatric Ophthalmologist at the Centre for Eye Research Ireland.

During an interview during the Asia-Pacific Myopia Management Symposium, Flitcroft said a recently published study compared visual impairment rates in Asia and the West using the same type of data and analysis. The broad pattern was similar across regions: visual impairment rises with higher myopia and increases with age.

The finding is especially important in Asia because the risk of visual impairment for each dioptre of myopia appears stronger in the region, Flitcroft said. That makes earlier control more important, particularly in markets where childhood myopia is common and progression can lead to long-term eye disease.

“The concept that every doctor matters is actually even more important in Asia,” Flitcroft said. The transcript appeared to refer to “dioptre” in this section.

Over the next one to two years, Flitcroft said the priority is increasing uptake of existing myopia management products. Japan, he noted, has moved from having no products in the market to two options, supported by years of safety data from outside Japan.

“We have good products now getting them used to my mind is the most important,” Flitcroft said.

Future research still needs to address why patients respond differently to treatment. Flitcroft said many studies report average results across a group, but this can mask wide variation. Some patients show strong responses, whilst others receive little or no benefit.

He said around 15% to 20% of patients may show no response at all. “By presenting just the average results we're masking over that very obvious gap,” Flitcroft said.

For clinicians and researchers, the next task is identifying strong responders early and developing better options for children who are currently left behind by average treatment outcomes.