ArticleOphthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)2025
The prevalence and costs of optical correction for childhood myopia in Scotland.
Article in Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Low-Dose Atropine Eye Drops (0.01%) for the Treatment of Myopia in Children: A United Kingdom Perspective.PharmacoEconomics · 2026Article
- The prevalence and costs of optical correction for childhood myopia in Scotland.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeGeneral Ophthalmic Services in Scotland (GOS(S)3) vouchers provide children with National Health Service (NHS)-funded optical correction. This study investigated the financial impact of myopia by reporting current spending on GOS(S)3 vouchers and indicative prevalence of childhood myopia in Scotland.
methodsData on the number and monetary value of GOS(S)3 vouchers issued for children aged 6-15 years in 2021/22 were obtained from Public Health Scotland. Data were categorised by age, refractive error and voucher value. Refractive error was defined as emmetropia (spherical equivalent refraction (SER) > -0.50D and < +2.00D), hyperopia (SER ≥ + 2.00D) and myopia (SER ≤ -0.50D). Total spending on GOS(S)3 vouchers and spending on additional GOS(S)3 voucher claims (due to spectacle prescription changes within 1 year) were reported. The proportions of additional GOS(S)3 vouchers for myopia and non-myopic refractive errors (hyperopia and emmetropia combined) were compared with a two-proportion z-test. Indicative prevalence was estimated by dividing the number of GOS(S)3 vouchers (excluding additional vouchers) by the number of children in the population, using data from the National Records of Scotland.
resultsTotal annual spending on GOS(S)3 vouchers for the correction of emmetropia, hyperopia and myopia was £1.44 million, £1.43 million and £1.91 million, respectively. A greater proportion of GOS(S)3 vouchers was attributed to additional claims for myopia (6.31%) compared to non-myopic refractive errors (4.10%) (p < 0.001). The prevalence of myopia as indicated by voucher claims ranged from 2.21% in children aged 6-7 years to 11.95% in 15 year olds. The proportion of children aged 6-15 years requiring spectacles for high myopia (spherical component < -6.00D) was approximately 0.26%, accounting for 3.62% of myopic children.
conclusionTotal spending on GOS(S)3 vouchers for the correction of myopia is lower than the combined spending on GOS(S)3 vouchers for emmetropia and hyperopia. However, children with myopia received more additional GOS(S)3 vouchers than other refractive groups, suggesting these children experienced more short-term changes to their spectacle prescription.
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.