Effect of Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) lenses on choroidal thickness in schoolchildren

Abstract

Purpose : To investigate the effect of Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) lenses on choroidal thickness in schoolchildren

Methods : 183 myopic Chinese schoolchildren aged from 8-13 years were recruited in a 2-year double-masked and randomised clinical trial. They were either treated with DIMS lenses (n=93) or single vision (SV) lenses (n=90) in a random allocation for 2 years. Baseline measurements including cycloplegic refraction, axial length and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFChT) were collected before the lens wear. SFChT were obtained from Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) images acquired by Heidelberg Spectral Domain OCT. SFChT were measured at 1 week, 1, 3, 6 months post lens wear. Cycloplegic refraction, axial length and SFChT were monitored in a 6-month interval afterwards.

Results : SFChT significantly increased after 1 week of DIMS lens wear compared to those wearing SV lenses (mean change relative to baseline ± SD at 1 week; DIMS vs. SV; 6.57 ± 13.54 µm vs. -3.01 ± 10.70 µm; p < 0.001, repeated measure two-way ANOVA). The magnitude of the thickening increased in the first 6 months of DIMS lens wear. The choroidal thickening sustained during the 2-year lens wear (mean change relative to baseline ± SD at 24 months; DIMS vs. SV; 13.45 ± 26.06 µm vs. -9.54 ± 23.15 µm). The changes in SFChT at 1 week showed a significant negative correlation with the changes in axial length at 24 months (Pearson r = -0.2822, p < 0.001).

Conclusions : Schoolchildren with DIMS lens had a significant thicker choroid at subfoveal region after 1 week of lens wear. The magnitude of choroidal thickening maintained throughout the DIMS lens wear for 2 years. Our results demonstrated that the myopic control effect by incorporating defocus produced a long-term and sustained choroidal thickening.

This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.