Comparison of Vision-Related Quality of Life between Children and Young Adults Wearing Orthokeratology and Soft Contact Lenses

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: This study compared vision-related quality of life (QoL) in children and young adults with myopia who were established soft contact lenses (SCL), and orthokeratology (OK) wearers using the Orthokeratology and Contact Lens Quality of Life questionnaire (OCL-QoL).
METHODS: Sixty-two subjects (32 young adults aged 18–26 years and 30 children aged 9–17 years) completed the OCL-QoL. Subjects must have worn either SCL or OK as their primary correction for at least three years. Rasch-scaled scores were compared between age groups and lens correction modality groups using Mann-Whitney U tests.
RESULTS: The average age (± standard deviation) of adult subjects was 21.8 ± 2.5 years and 14.5 ± 1.9 years for children. Overall, adults reported higher (better) scores on the OCL-QoL compared to children in (p = 0.005). This difference was primarily driven by questions related to contact lens insertion, vision and cognition, and concern for eye injuries, where children reported lower scores. There was no difference in scores between SCL versus OK wearers (p = 0.82).
CONCLUSION: Young adults and children who have been wearing contact lenses for at least three years are generally satisfied with their chosen contact lens correction modality. Quality of life scores for adults were generally better than children, perhaps due to the types of questions asked in the OCL-QoL. Practitioners should explain the benefits of both OK and SCL to their patients with myopia. Researchers should consider that scores for children and adults may differ depending on the survey.