This article describes the design and baseline data of a two-year, randomized, double-blind, controlled study in China evaluating the effectiveness in children of undercorrection by +0.50 D versus full correction of myopia when wearing single vision spectacles.
The authors write that it is becoming increasingly important to clarify whether undercorrection of myopia is beneficial or harmful to myopic children given the high prevalence of undercorrected or even uncorrected myopia in children in the world, especially in China.
Subjects include 200 children aged 7 to 15 years with low to moderate myopia ( 1.5 D to 6.0 D), astigmatism < 1.5 D and anisometropia < 1.0 D. The children have been randomly allocated to wear single vision lenses with full correction or undercorrection by +0.50 D. Ocular examinations and questionnaire surveys for myopia-related factors will be performed every six months.
The gender, age, age at myopia onset, phoria, eye dominance, parental myopia, refractive error, axial length, corneal curvature, and mean time spent engaged in near work and outdoor activities between the two groups are not signi?cantly different.
The authors conclude that data obtained from this study, known as the Full Correction and Undercorrection of Myopia Evaluation Trial (FUMET), will help identify factors that may be involved in the progression of myopia and will help optometrists, ophthalmologists and eye care providers in the prescribing of spectacles in children.