Authors
Philip B. Morgan
Michael L. Read
Carole Maldonado-Codina
Aftab Mirza
Neil Chatterjee
José A. Vega
Elizabeth Lumb
Maria Navascues-Cornago
 

Supported by: CooperVision International Limited.
 

Affiliations:
José: CooperVision, Inc.
Liz: CooperVision International Limited,

 

Purpose
To evaluate wearing times of spectacles prescribed for myopia control.
 

Methods
Fifty-two participants (age 6-15) currently using myopia control spectacles were recruited at four UK optometry practices. Wearing times were evaluated using two temperature sensors fitted to each side of their spectacles (measuring skin and ambient temperatures every two minutes). Participants wore the sensors for approximately one month. Temperature data from the final week were analysed using a custom-written Python algorithm to determine wearing times over 24 hours (W24) and over an assumed awake period from 07.00 to 21.00 (W14). Linear mixed models were used to determine the effects of age, sex and refractive error on wearing times. 
 

Results
Participants (29F/23M, mean age 11.3±2.0 years) showed significant differences in wearing times. W24 and W14 wear times [least squares mean (95% CI)] were 11.9 (10.5-13.4) and 10.4 (9.2-11.7) for boys, and 14.0 (12.8-15.3) and 12.1 (11.0-13.1) for girls. These differences were statistically significant (W24 difference: 2.1 (0.2-4.0) hours, p=0.03; W14 difference: 1.7 (0.0-3.3) hours, p=0.05. W14 decreased significantly with age (average decline of 38 minutes per day per year of age, p=0.009). A trend towards decreased W24 with age was also observed, particularly in boys (p=0.08). W24 increased with refractive error (average increase of 39 minutes per day per dioptre of myopia, p=0.01), whilst refractive error did not significantly influence W14 (p=0.22). 


Conclusions
Suitably designed sensors can provide helpful objective wearing information for myopia control spectacles and have shown that wearing times are influenced by key demographic factors.  Shorter wearing times were observed in older boys in particular, and in those with lower refractive errors. As the therapeutic impact of myopia control spectacles is thought to relate to wearing times, these insights may help inform the clinical management of young myopes.