SynthesisThe British journal of ophthalmology2025
Efficacy comparison of atropine, orthokeratology and repeated low-level red-light therapy for myopia control in children: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The British journal of ophthalmology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Duration-Dependent Efficacy and Clinical Safety of Repeated Low-Level Red-Light Therapy for Paediatric Myopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical & experimental ophthalmology · 2026Pooled it
- Repeated low-level red-light therapy vs. conventional treatments for myopic control in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Low-Dose Atropine and Other Interventions for Pediatric Myopia: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-analysis of Efficacy and Post-treatment Outcomes.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- Compliance with orthokeratology lens wear: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Review
- Article
- Beyond Screen Time: A Measurement Framework for Behavioral Exposures in Childhood Myopia.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Neuro-ophthalmic review on pediatric myopia: Advancing from refraction to a brain-centric model of axial growth.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2026Review
- Repeated low-intensity red light combined with defocus-incorporated multiple segments (DIMS) spectacles for controlling myopia progression in children.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Role of light in eye growth and light as a therapy for myopia control.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2026Review
- Reticular fiber distribution in sclera: Key to understanding pathologic myopia and posterior staphylomas.Molecular vision · 2025Article
- Repeated low-level red-light therapy for myopia control: An update on efficacy and safety.Taiwan journal of ophthalmologyReview
- A narrative review on orthokeratology for myopia control: Lens design, combination therapies, and clinical management.Taiwan journal of ophthalmologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis study aimed to compare the efficacy of different interventions for myopia control in children, including 0.01% atropine (AP), orthokeratology (Ortho-k), and repeated low-level red-light therapy (RLRL), and their combinations by conducting a network meta-analysis.
methodsWe searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in PubMed, Web of Science and Embase. The primary outcomes were the mean changes in the cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) and axial length (AL) at the 12-month follow-up. A Bayesian random-effects network meta-analysis was performed to estimate pooled weighted mean differences and 95% credible intervals.
resultsThe analysis included 41 RCTs with 6434 eyes. Compared with the control group, all interventions were found to be effective at slowing myopia progression, combining direct and indirect evidence at the 12-month follow-up: RLRL therapy (AL -0.31 (0.39, 0.24), p<0.05; SE 0.76 (0.54, 0.98), p<0.05), 0.01% atropine (AL -0.13 (-0.20, 0.07), p<0.05; SE 0.25 (0.08, 0.42), p<0.05), Ortho-k therapy (AL -0.16 (-0.26, 0.06), p<0.05; SE 0.58 (0.05, 1.13), p<0.05) and 0.01% atropine+Ortho-k therapy (AL -0.27 (-0.38, 0.16), p<0.05; SE 0.76 (0.23, 1.31), p<0.05). The cumulative probability ranking suggested that RLRL therapy was the most effective intervention in slowing AL, followed by 0.01% atropine+Ortho-k, Ortho-k and 0.01% atropine.
conclusionsThis network meta-analysis provides evidence that RLRL, 0.01% atropine, Ortho-k and 0.01% atropine+Ortho-k are all effective in suppressing myopia progress. In terms of long-term treatment efficacy in slowing AL and SE procession, RLRL was the most effective intervention.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.