IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025

Mark A Bullimore; Kathryn J Saunders; Rigmor C Baraas; David A Berntsen; Zhi Chen; Audrey Wei Lin Chia; So Goto; Jun Jiang; Weizhong Lan; Nicola S Logan; Raymond P Najjar; Jan Roelof Polling; Scott A Read; Emily C Woodman-Pieterse; Noémi Széll; Pavan K Verkicharla; Pei-Chang Wu; Xiaoying Zhu; James Loughman; Manbir Nagra; John R Phillips; Huy D M Tran; Fuensanta A Vera-Diaz; Jason Yam; Yue M Liu; Sarah E Singh; Christine F Wildsoet

doi:10.1167/iovs.66.12.39

IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025

Mark A Bullimore
, Kathryn J Saunders
, Rigmor C Baraas
, David A Berntsen
, Zhi Chen
, Audrey Wei Lin Chia
, So Goto
, Jun Jiang
, Weizhong Lan
, Nicola S Logan
, Raymond P Najjar
, Jan Roelof Polling
, Scott A Read
, Emily C Woodman-Pieterse
, Noémi Széll
, Pavan K Verkicharla
, Pei-Chang Wu
, Xiaoying Zhu
, James Loughman
, Manbir Nagra

John R Phillips, Huy D M Tran, Fuensanta A Vera-Diaz, Jason Yam, Yue M Liu, Sarah E Singh, Christine F Wildsoet

College of Optometry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States.
Centre for Optometry and Vision Science, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
National Centre for Optics, Vision and Eye Care, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kongsberg, Norway.
Shanghai Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Myopia Centre of Excellence, Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
National Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People's Republic of China.
Changsha Aier Eye Hospital, Changsha, People's Republic of China.
National University of Singapore, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering, Singapore, Singapore, ROR: https://ror.org/01tgyzw49, GRID: grid.4280.e, ISNI: 0000 0001 2180 6431
Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands,Department of Ophthalmology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands,Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands,Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology, Basel, Switzerland
Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Centre for Vision and Eye Research, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, Brisbane, Australia
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Infor Myopia Centre, L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India.
Department of Ophthalmology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
SUNY College of Optometry, State University of New York, New York, New York, United States.
Centre for Eye Research Ireland, Sustainability & Health Research Centre, Technological University Dublin, City Campus, Dublin, Ireland.
School of Optometry and Vision Science, New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, School of Health and Clinical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
New England College of Optometry, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Department of Ophthalmology, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Hong Kong
Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

9 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Myopia is recognized as a significant public health problem, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. This has led to the development and evaluation of a range of interventions to slow its progression and delay its onset. Since the publication of the 2019 International Myopia Institute's review of interventions for controlling myopia onset and progression, treatment options have continued to grow in number. This article reviews the efficacy of such interventions under five categories: optical, pharmacological, environmental (behavioral), colored light, and surgical. In summarizing the efficacy of mature technologies, only randomized controlled trials were considered, although such data are very limited for emerging treatments. The overall conclusion is that there are multiple effective interventions in most categories. Further research should aim to understand the mechanisms underlying myopia progression and the modalities that slow its progression in order to develop more effective treatments.

Original language	English
Article number	39
Number of pages	37
Journal	Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Volume	66
Issue number	12
Early online date	17 Sept 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.12.39
Publication status	Published - 17 Sept 2025

Bibliographical note

Funding

Supported by the International Myopia Institute. The publication and dissemination costs of the International Myopia Institute reports were supported by donations from Alcon, the Brien Holden Vision Institute, Carl Zeiss Vision, CooperVision, Essilor-Luxottica, Hoya, Oculus, and Thea.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Humans
Myopia
Myopia, Degenerative
Disease Progression
Refraction, Ocular

Access to Document

10.1167/iovs.66.12.39Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025
Copyright © 2025 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Final published version, 1.28 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Cite this

Bullimore, M. A., Saunders, K. J., Baraas, R. C., Berntsen, D. A., Chen, Z., Chia, A. W. L., Goto, S., Jiang, J., Lan, W., Logan, N. S., Najjar, R. P., Polling, J. R., Read, S. A., Woodman-Pieterse, E. C., Széll, N., Verkicharla, P. K., Wu, P.-C., Zhu, X., Loughman, J., ... Wildsoet, C. F. (2025). IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 66(12), Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.12.39

@article{20678e73d1324e2da07e2f3a3429fd91,

title = "IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025",

abstract = "Myopia is recognized as a significant public health problem, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. This has led to the development and evaluation of a range of interventions to slow its progression and delay its onset. Since the publication of the 2019 International Myopia Institute's review of interventions for controlling myopia onset and progression, treatment options have continued to grow in number. This article reviews the efficacy of such interventions under five categories: optical, pharmacological, environmental (behavioral), colored light, and surgical. In summarizing the efficacy of mature technologies, only randomized controlled trials were considered, although such data are very limited for emerging treatments. The overall conclusion is that there are multiple effective interventions in most categories. Further research should aim to understand the mechanisms underlying myopia progression and the modalities that slow its progression in order to develop more effective treatments.",

keywords = "Humans, Myopia, Myopia, Degenerative, Disease Progression, Refraction, Ocular",

author = "Bullimore, \{Mark A\} and Saunders, \{Kathryn J\} and Baraas, \{Rigmor C\} and Berntsen, \{David A\} and Zhi Chen and Chia, \{Audrey Wei Lin\} and So Goto and Jun Jiang and Weizhong Lan and Logan, \{Nicola S\} and Najjar, \{Raymond P\} and Polling, \{Jan Roelof\} and Read, \{Scott A\} and Woodman-Pieterse, \{Emily C\} and No{\'e}mi Sz{\'e}ll and Verkicharla, \{Pavan K\} and Pei-Chang Wu and Xiaoying Zhu and James Loughman and Manbir Nagra and Phillips, \{John R\} and Tran, \{Huy D M\} and Vera-Diaz, \{Fuensanta A\} and Jason Yam and Liu, \{Yue M\} and Singh, \{Sarah E\} and Wildsoet, \{Christine F\}",

note = "Copyright {\textcopyright} 2025 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.",

year = "2025",

month = sep,

day = "17",

doi = "10.1167/iovs.66.12.39",

language = "English",

volume = "66",

journal = "Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science",

issn = "1552-5783",

publisher = "Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Inc.",

number = "12",

}

Bullimore, MA, Saunders, KJ, Baraas, RC, Berntsen, DA, Chen, Z, Chia, AWL, Goto, S, Jiang, J, Lan, W, Logan, NS, Najjar, RP, Polling, JR, Read, SA, Woodman-Pieterse, EC, Széll, N, Verkicharla, PK, Wu, P-C, Zhu, X, Loughman, J, Nagra, M, Phillips, JR, Tran, HDM, Vera-Diaz, FA, Yam, J, Liu, YM, Singh, SE & Wildsoet, CF 2025, 'IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025', Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, vol. 66, no. 12, 39. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.12.39

TY - JOUR

T1 - IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025

AU - Bullimore, Mark A

AU - Saunders, Kathryn J

AU - Baraas, Rigmor C

AU - Berntsen, David A

AU - Chen, Zhi

AU - Chia, Audrey Wei Lin

AU - Goto, So

AU - Jiang, Jun

AU - Lan, Weizhong

AU - Logan, Nicola S

AU - Najjar, Raymond P

AU - Polling, Jan Roelof

AU - Read, Scott A

AU - Woodman-Pieterse, Emily C

AU - Széll, Noémi

AU - Verkicharla, Pavan K

AU - Wu, Pei-Chang

AU - Zhu, Xiaoying

AU - Loughman, James

AU - Nagra, Manbir

AU - Phillips, John R

AU - Tran, Huy D M

AU - Vera-Diaz, Fuensanta A

AU - Yam, Jason

AU - Liu, Yue M

AU - Singh, Sarah E

AU - Wildsoet, Christine F

PY - 2025/9/17

Y1 - 2025/9/17

N2 - Myopia is recognized as a significant public health problem, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. This has led to the development and evaluation of a range of interventions to slow its progression and delay its onset. Since the publication of the 2019 International Myopia Institute's review of interventions for controlling myopia onset and progression, treatment options have continued to grow in number. This article reviews the efficacy of such interventions under five categories: optical, pharmacological, environmental (behavioral), colored light, and surgical. In summarizing the efficacy of mature technologies, only randomized controlled trials were considered, although such data are very limited for emerging treatments. The overall conclusion is that there are multiple effective interventions in most categories. Further research should aim to understand the mechanisms underlying myopia progression and the modalities that slow its progression in order to develop more effective treatments.

AB - Myopia is recognized as a significant public health problem, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. This has led to the development and evaluation of a range of interventions to slow its progression and delay its onset. Since the publication of the 2019 International Myopia Institute's review of interventions for controlling myopia onset and progression, treatment options have continued to grow in number. This article reviews the efficacy of such interventions under five categories: optical, pharmacological, environmental (behavioral), colored light, and surgical. In summarizing the efficacy of mature technologies, only randomized controlled trials were considered, although such data are very limited for emerging treatments. The overall conclusion is that there are multiple effective interventions in most categories. Further research should aim to understand the mechanisms underlying myopia progression and the modalities that slow its progression in order to develop more effective treatments.

KW - Humans

KW - Myopia

KW - Myopia, Degenerative

KW - Disease Progression

KW - Refraction, Ocular

UR - https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2810837

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105016102419

U2 - 10.1167/iovs.66.12.39

DO - 10.1167/iovs.66.12.39

M3 - Article

SN - 1552-5783

VL - 66

JO - Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science

JF - Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science

IS - 12

M1 - 39

ER -

IMI - Interventions for Controlling Myopia Onset and Progression 2025

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this