Three-Month Interim Analyses of Repeated Low-Level Red-Light Therapy in Myopia Control in Schoolchildren: A Pilot Multi-Ethnic Randomized Controlled Trial
Deen N, Zhu Z, Qi Z, Aung YY, Bulloch G, Miao D, He M
Ophthalmic epidemiology · 3 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Unclassified
- Eyerising International
Based on 1 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2025-05-19 · Ophthalmic Epidemiol · vol. 33 · issue 3 · pp. 266–274
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Cited
- 9 citations · more than 97% of similar papers · 5.6× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 26 works
- Access
- Paywalled
- Research areas
- Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies · Corneal surgery and disorders · Retinopathy of Prematurity Studies
- Keywords
- Medicine, Interim, Ethnic group, Randomized controlled trial, Physical therapy, Optometry, Pediatrics, Internal medicine
- MeSH
- humans, myopia, disease progression, refraction, ocular, treatment outcome, phototherapy, follow-up studies, pilot projects, eyeglasses, visual acuity, adolescent, child, female, male, axial length, eye, ethnicity
7 authors
From AU, HK
- Nelofar Deen · correspondingAustralian College of Optometry
- Zhuoting Zhu
- Ziyi QiAustralian College of Optometry
- Yuri Yin‐Moe Aung
- Gabriella BullochThe University of Melbourne
- Di MiaoAustralian College of Optometry
Abstract
Purpose
To assess the efficacy and safety of repeated low-level red-light (RLRL) therapy in controlling myopia progression among multi-ethnic school-aged children. This report focuses on interim three-month data analysis.
Methods
A multi-ethnic, parallel controlled randomized trial. Thirty-four children aged 8-13 years with myopia were enrolled. Participants were randomly assigned to the RLRL group (n = 17) or the single-vision spectacles (SVS) control group (n = 17). RLRL therapy was administered twice daily on weekdays for three-minute sessions, while the SVS group continued routine activities. Assessments were scheduled at baseline and follow-up visits at one, three, six and 12 months, with compliance monitoring and safety assessments throughout. Respectively the primary outcome and a key secondary outcome are axial length (AL) change and cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) change.
Results
A total of 32 (94.1%) participated in the three-month follow-up visit. The RLRL group demonstrated a significant shortening in AL ( - 0.06 ± 0.05 mm) compared to the SVS group (0.02 ± 0.06 mm, p < 0.001). Similarly, the RLRL group demonstrated a reversal in SE (0.23 ± 0.18 D), whereas the SVS group exhibited a smaller increase (0.04 ± 0.43 D). No severe adverse events were reported in either of the groups.
Conclusions
The three-month interim analysis shows that RLRL therapy effectively controls myopia progression among multi-ethnic children without safety concerns, suggesting its potential as a globally applicable solution for myopia control.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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