A new study from Peking University in Beijing, China, has found diversified segmental defocus optimisation (DSDO) spectacles delayed myopia onset and could be considered another option for slowing early myopia development in children.  

Published in JAMA Ophthalmology, the one-year randomised trial investigated whether DSDO spectacle lenses, with or without low-dose atropine drops, could help prevent myopia. The study included 450 children aged five to 12 who were not yet myopic. They were assigned to three groups: one with DSDO lenses and placebo drops; the second with DSDO lenses and 0.01% atropine drops; and the control group with single-vision lenses and placebo drops. After one year, the cumulative incidence of myopia was 5.8% in the DSDO-only group and 4.8% in the DSDO plus atropine group, compared with 15.3% in the control group. The proportion experiencing a fast myopic shift was also much lower in both DSDO groups compared with controls. No significant added benefit was found from combining atropine with the special lenses, reported researchers. 

Led by Yuchang Lu, the research team concluded that wearing DSDO spectacles daily helped delay the onset of myopia in children who had not yet developed it, noting that longer-term studies were needed to confirm these benefits.