Effect of Low-Concentration Atropine Eye Drops in Controlling the Progression of Myopia in Children: A One- and Two-Year Follow-Up Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Atropine eye drops have been shown to slow the progression of myopia, but there has been limited research on the effectiveness of 0.05% atropine in treating myopia. This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of 0.05% atropine eye drops in controlling myopia in children.

Methods

The study included 424 participants aged 6 to 12 years between January 1, 2015, and January 1, 2021. Of these, 213 were randomly assigned to the 0.05% atropine group and 211 to the placebo group. The cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE), axial length (AL), corneal curvature (K), and anterior chamber depth (ACD) were measured using IOLMaster. The lens power and corneal astigmatism were also determined. The changes in ocular biometric parameters were compared between the two groups, and the contributions of ocular characteristics to SE progression were calculated and compared.

Results

Over a 12-month period, the changes in spherical equivalent were −0.03 ± 0.28 and −0.32 ± 0.14 in the atropine and placebo groups, respectively (P = .01). The changes in axial length were 0.06 ± 0.11 and 0.17 ± 0.12, respectively (P = .01). At 18 and 24 months, there were significant differences in axial length and spherical equivalent between the atropine and placebo groups. Multiple regression models accounting for changes in AL, K, and lens magnification explained 87.23% and 98.32% of SE changes in the atropine and placebo groups, respectively. At 1 year (p = .01) and 2 years (p = .03), there were significant differences in photophobia between the atropine and placebo groups.

Conclusions

This two-year follow-up study demonstrates that 0.05% atropine eye drops are safe and effective in preventing the development of myopia in school-aged children.

KEYWORDS:

• Atropine
• 0.05% concentration
• myopia

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all participants and our hospital.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contribution

guarantor of integrity of the entire study: Hong-Bo Zhang

study concepts: Hong-Bo Zhang

study design: Shu-Mao Li

definition of intellectual content: Shu-Mao Li

literature research: Pei-Hua Yang

clinical studies: Hong-Bo Zhang

experimental studies: Shu-Mao Li

data acquisition: Wei-Xiao Zhang

data analysis: Pei-Hua Yang

statistical analysis: Wei-Xiao Zhang

manuscript preparation: Wei-Xiao Zhang

manuscript editing: Ya-Hong Li

manuscript review: Ya-Hong Li

Data availability statement

The data used to support the findings of this study are included in the article.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was no funded.