Nearsightedness on the Rise: How the Visian Lens can Help
The frequency of myopia among Asians and other is on the rise and appears to increase with education. A study was conducted in Singapore in 1992 to investigate the prevalence of nearsightedness (known as myopia) as one’s education increased. The findings were astonishing: Just over 15% of male subjects with little education were myopic compared to 65% of the male subjects that were university graduates. A 1994 study found that almost 87% of first year students at the University of Hong Kong were myopic. In other words, in a class of 50 college students, approximately 43 needed glasses or contacts. A separate study found that over 70% of school age children in Taiwan are nearsighted. The studies with results like these go on and on. So, can we prevent this from continuing and how do we treat it?
The speculations about the causes of increased myopia are myriad. Some think optometrists are conspiring against the public and are prescribing glasses to children unnecessarily to make money! More often, it is hypothesized that genetics, increased up-close work like video games and computers, and a decrease in the time children spent outside are contributing to the rise in the frequency and severity of myopia.
The treatment for high myopia is strong glasses, strong contact lenses, laser vision correction like LASIK, and implantable contact lens surgery like Visian. In fact, the Visian ICL was designed specifically for individuals with very high degress of nearsightedness. Because of the prevalence of myopia among the Asian population, a study that was publised earlier this year involved placing the Visian ICL in only Asian eyes. The lens that was used also corrected astigmatism. The results were very similar to the results of the FDA clinical trials: after 6 months, almost 95% of all subjects could see 20/25 or better without correction. Remember that these are high myopes who probably couldn’t even see the eye chart when they were evaluated for surgery!
So with myopia on the rise we anticipate more and more people will see out correction for their vision using the Visian ICL. For more information about the Visian ICL, call our office to schedule a complimentary consultation.
