Behavioral Intervention with Eye-Use Monitoring to Delay Myopia Onset and Progression in Children: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of a behavioral intervention using Eye-Use Monitoring technology to delay the onset and progression of myopia in children.

Design: A prospective, cluster-randomized, parallel-groups, examiner-masked, clinical trial (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2100052101).

Participants: A total of 413 children from grades 2 to 4 in Shandong, China, from October 2021 to December 2023 were randomized by class into three groups: reminder & feedback (6 classes, 156 children), reminder-only (5 classes, 147 children), and control (3 classes, 110 children).

Daily activities change is linked to acute angle closure occurrence in COVID-19 co-infected patients.

Objectives: To analyze the influence of daily activity-related factors associated with COVID-19 infection on the occurrence of acute angle closure (AAC).

Methods: A multicenter hospital-based study was conducted at 23 ophthalmic centers in 17 provincial-level regions across China to recruit patients with confirmed AAC during the post-lockdown time of COVID-19 (P-TOC) from Dec 7, 2022, to Jan 17, 2023, and three lockdown time of COVID-19 (TOC) periods, which included the TOC-2022 (Sep 7, 2022 - Dec 6, 2022), TOC-2021(Sep 7, 2021 - Jan 6, 2022) and TOC-2020 (Sep 7, 2020 - Jan 6, 2021). Patient information, including demographic, a questionnaire on daily activity changes during the AAC period, COVID-19 history, and eye examination results, was collected.

Transforming Households with Refraction and Innovative Financial Technology (THRIFT): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of vision interventions and online banking among the elderly in Kurigram.

Introduction: Presbyopia, difficulty in seeing close-ups, affects a billion people globally. Mobile financial services (MFS) have been mandated since January 2021 for Bangladesh government social safety net payments, including old age allowance (OAA) and widow allowance (WA). We report the protocol for the Transforming Households with Refraction and Innovative Financial Technology randomised trial assessing the impact on the use of online banking of providing presbyopic safety net beneficiaries with reading glasses, and brief smartphone and mobile banking app training.

STABLE trial of spectacle provision and driving safety among myopic motorcycle users in Vietnam: study protocol for a stepped-wedge, cluster randomised trial.

Background: Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death globally for people aged 5-29 years, with 90% of mortality occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The STABLE (Slashing Two-wheeled Accidents by Leveraging Eyecare) trial was designed to determine whether providing spectacles could reduce risk among young myopic motorcycle users in Vietnam.

Methods: This investigator-masked, stepped-wedge, cluster randomised naturalistic driving trial will recruit 625 students aged 18-23 years, driving ≥ 50 km/week, with ≥ 1-year driving experience and using motorcycles as their primary means of transport, in 25 clusters of 25 students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Safety of repeated low-level red-light therapy for myopia: A systematic review.

Purpose: Establishing the safety profile of repeated low-level red-light (RLRL) therapy is necessary prior to its widespread clinical implementation.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, CRD42024516676) of articles across seven databases from inception through February 10, 2024, with keywords related to myopia and RLRL therapy. Pooled safety outcomes and risk-to-benefit ratios were reported, and incidence of side effects was compared with other antimyopia interventions.

Impact of edentulism on community-dwelling adults in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a systematic review.

Objectives: This study aims to comprehensively explore the consequences of edentulism on community-dwelling adults in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries.

Design: Systematic review and Synthesis Without Meta-Analysis (SWiM).

Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched from inception to 21 March 2023, in addition to grey literature searches, reference cross-checking and study recommendations.

Adherence to diabetic retinopathy screening among children and young adults in Bangladesh.

Background: Effective diabetic retinopathy screening (DRS) programmes are important in preventing vision impairment and blindness caused by diabetes. This study focuses on identifying the factors affecting attendance or non-adherence to DRS among children and young adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Bangladesh.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used, which included patients diagnosed with DM aged 12-26 years from Bangladesh who were registered at BIRDEM Women and Children hospital in Dhaka.

Teleophthalmology Through Online Mentorship Over a 20-Year Period: Education and Capacity Building.

Purpose: Telemedicine is widely used for diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, and other ophthalmic diseases. However, there is limited research on the use of teleophthalmology in retinoblastoma. The goal of this study was to explore how Orbis Cybersight affected the capacity for treatment and management of children with retinoblastoma through online mentorship and to assess the efficacy of online mentoring through disease-specific knowledge change over time.

The association between visual impairment, educational outcomes, and mental health: insights from eyeglasses usage among junior high school students in rural China.

This study examined the association between visual impairment, visual impairment corrected by wearing eyeglasses, academic performance, and mental health among junior high school students in rural China. Visual acuity assessments were conducted on 19,425 junior high school students by trained medical and research professionals to determine the presence of visual impairment. All sample students were surveyed with a questionnaire that asked about individual and family characteristics, eyeglasses ownership, and educational aspirations and included a standardized math test.

Patients' Acceptance of Glaucoma Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prcis: Patients' acceptance of glaucoma therapy was high overall in this study, but lower for surgery than for laser or medical therapy. Fear and cost were the leading reasons why patients declined recommended therapy and they were treatment-specific. Cost was the primary reason for declining medical and laser therapy, while fear was the most common reason for declining surgical therapy.

Malignant glaucoma treated by low-dose laser cycloplasty: a 1-year multicenter prospective non-comparative study.

Aim: To report a one-year clinical outcomes of low-dose laser cycloplasty (LCP) among malignant glaucoma patients.

Methods: In this prospective, multicenter, non-comparative clinical study, participants with malignant glaucoma were recruited and underwent LCP at eight ophthalmic centers in China. Patients were followed up at 1wk, 1, 3, 6, and 12mo.

The burden, causes, and determinants of blindness and vision impairment in Asia: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study.

Background: Asia accounts for more than half of the world's population and carries a substantial proportion of the global burden of blindness and vision impairment. Characterising this burden, as well as its causes and determinants, could help with devising targeted interventions for reducing the occurrence of blindness and visual impairment.

Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 database, we retrieved data on the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs); crude and age-standardised rates; and the prevalence (with 95% uncertainty intervals (95%UIs)) of blindness and vision loss due to six causes (age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, near-vision impairment, refractive error, and other vision loss) for Asian countries for the period between 1990 and 2019.

The Better Operative Outcomes Software Tool (BOOST) Prospective Study: Improving the Quality of Cataract Surgery Outcomes in Low-Resource Settings.

Purpose: Post-operative vision impairment is common among patients who have undergone cataract surgery in low-resource settings, impacting quality of clinical outcomes and patient experience. This prospective, multisite, single-armed, pragmatic validation study aimed to assess whether receiving tailored recommendations via the free Better Operative Outcomes Software Tool (BOOST) app improved surgical outcomes, as quantified by post-operative unaided distance visual acuity (UVA) measured 1-3 days after surgery.

Methods: During the baseline data collection round, surgeons in low and middle-income countries recorded clinical characteristics of 60 consecutive cataract cases in BOOST.

The effect on income of providing near vision correction to workers in Bangladesh: The THRIVE (Tradespeople and Hand-workers Rural Initiative for a Vision-enhanced Economy) randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Presbyopia, the leading cause of vision impairment globally, is common during working years. However, no trials have assessed presbyopia's impact on income.

Methods: In April 2017, we conducted a census among 59 Bangladesh villages to identify persons aged 35 to 65 years with presbyopia (presenting distance vision > = 6/12 bilaterally and correctable inability to see 6/13 at 40 cm with both eyes), who never had owned glasses.

Assessment of Causality Between Diet-Derived Antioxidants and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the genetic causal relationships among diet-derived circulating antioxidants, primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and glaucoma-related traits using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR).

Methods: Genetic variants associated with diet-derived circulating antioxidants (retinol, ascorbate, β-carotene, lycopene, α-tocopherol, and γ-tocopherol) were assessed as absolute and metabolic instrumental variables. POAG and glaucoma-related traits data were derived from a large, recently published genome-wide association study database; these traits included intraocular pressure (IOP), macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL) thickness, macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL) thickness, and vertical cup-to-disc ratio (vCDR).

Depression, anxiety, stress symptoms and their determinants among secondary students with vision impairment in rural Northwestern China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The measures implemented to control the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could affect children's mental and vision health. Youth particularly from minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to be impacted by these measures. This study aimed to examine the mental health of children with vision impairment and associated factors in North-western China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Green Space Morphology and School Myopia in China.

Importance: China has experienced both rapid urbanization and major increases in myopia prevalence. Previous studies suggest that green space exposure reduces the risk of myopia, but the association between myopia risk and specific geometry and distribution characteristics of green space has yet to be explored. These must be understood to craft effective interventions to reduce myopia.

Barriers to uptake of cataract surgery among elderly patients in rural China: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To investigate factors that differentiate elderly adults in rural China who accept free vision screening and cataract surgery from those who could benefit from vision care but refuse it when offered.

Design: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study between October and December 2016. Logistic regression models were used to examine the predictors of accepting free vision screening and cataract surgery.

A systematic review of the frequency of features of the seven-point checklist in proven cutaneous melanoma: The importance of change.

Background: Pigmented skin lesions in human adults can present with several different visible features that may indicate signs of malignancy, particularly melanoma. Patient and clinician awareness of these features can aid the early recognition and melanoma diagnosis improving patient outcomes. The seven-point checklist (7PCL) is a clinical prediction rule advocated by the National Institute for Health Care Excellence to aid the assessment of pigmented skin lesions in primary care to indicate referral for specialist opinion.

Collaboration of health and education sectors drives equity for children with complex disabilities in China.

Medical professionals often find it challenging to assess children having both complex disabilities and visual impairment, which may lead to excluding such children from educational programs and limiting their full participation in family and community activities. Identification and assessment of these children are essential to close this exclusion gap. A five-year project in Shanxi province, China, provided comprehensive training to eye health providers and educators as they learned to assess, identify, refer and serve children with visual impairments, both with and without complex disabilities.

Impact of a short online course on the accuracy of non-ophthalmic diabetic retinopathy graders in recognising glaucomatous optic nerves in Vietnam.

Purpose: To test an online training course for non-ophthalmic diabetic retinopathy (DR) graders for recognition of glaucomatous optic nerves in Vietnam.

Methods: This was an uncontrolled, experimental, before-and-after study in which 43 non-ophthalmic DR graders underwent baseline testing on a standard image set, completed a self-paced, online training course and were retested using the same photographs presented randomly. Twenty-nine local ophthalmologists completed the same test without the training course.

Evaluation of a self-imaging OCT for remote diagnosis and monitoring of retinal diseases.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of a portable, self-imaging optical coherence tomography (OCT) for measuring central subfield thickness (CST) and achieving diagnostic concordance for retinal lesions compared with clinic-based spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT).

Methods: This comparative, cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2020 and February 2021. Two groups of adult participants were recruited: (1) a selected cohort of 160 participants with confirmed diagnosis and (2) a consecutive cohort of 315 participants recruited randomly.