Myopia progression, control, and the difference in practice between ophthalmologists and optometrists
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Abstract
Myopia is a refractive disorder that affects almost 30% of the world population. Myopia can increase the risk of developing sight threatening eye diseases. The main factors that increase the risk of developing myopia are increased near vision tasks and decreased time spent outdoors. In addition to environmental factors, genetics also play an important role in myopia development and progression. • There are a few treatment options to control the progression of myopia. The three main options are low-dose atropine eye drops, multifocal soft contact lenses and orthokeratology. When treating myopia progression, optometrists tend to prescribe multifocal soft contact lenses. Ophthalmologists are more likely to prescribe low-dose atropine eye drops to control myopia progression. Orthokeratology is the least popular option because of its associated risks and the relatively small number of optometrists who fit them.