Trends in contact lens prescribing 2012

The 13th annual survey of Australian contact lens prescribing was conducted between January and April 2012. The same format as in previous years was employed. About 3,000 members of Optometrists Association Australia were sent an e-mail message with a link to a downloadable questionnaire, and a request that this be accessed, printed and completed to provide details of the first 10 patients fitted with contact lenses after receipt of the questionnaire.

Trends in US contact lens prescribing 2002-2014

Purpose To document contact lens prescribing patterns in the United States between 2002 and 2014. Methods A survey of contact lens prescribing trends was conducted each year between 2002 and 2014, inclusive. Randomly selected contact lens practitioners were asked to provide information relating to 10 consecutive contact lens fits between January and March each year. Results Over the 13-year survey period, 1650 survey forms were received from US practitioners representing details of 7702 contact lens fits. The mean (±SD) age of lens wearers was 33.6 (±15.2) years, of whom 65.2% were female. Rigid lens new fits decreased from 13.0% in 2002 to 9.4% in 2014. Across this period, silicone hydrogels have replaced mid water contact lens hydrogels as the soft lens material of choice. Toric lenses represented about 25 to 30% of all soft lens fits. Multifocal soft lenses are generally preferred to monovision. Daily disposable lens fits have recently increased, and in 2014, they represented 27.1% of all soft lens fits. Most lenses are prescribed on 1 to 2 weekly or monthly lens replacement regimen. Extended wear remains a minority lens wearing modality. The vast majority of those wearing reusable lenses use multipurpose lens care solutions. Lenses are mostly worn 7 d/wk. Conclusions This survey has revealed prescribing trends and preferences in the United States over the past 13 years.

Factors influencing the prescribing of hydrogel contact lenses

Despite the current market popularity of silicone hydrogel contact lenses, conventional hydrogel lenses still represent a significant proportion of the overall contact lens market. Data gathered from annual UK contact lens fitting surveys over the past 13 years indicate that 64% of hydrogel lenses prescribed during this period were of low/medium water content (<60% water). Whereas, in the past, practitioners would choose the water content of a hydrogel lens to meet specific clinical needs, this choice appears today to be largely governed by product availability.

Trends in demographic, health behaviour factors, and self-perceived weight status : influences on obesity in Australia from 1995 to 2005

Overweight and obesity are two of the most important emerging public health issues in our time and regarded by the World Health Organisation [WHO] (1998) as a worldwide epidemic. The prevalence of obesity in the USA is the highest in the world, and Australian obesity rates fall into second place. Currently, about 60% of Australian adults are overweight (BMI „d 25kg/m2). The socio-demographic factors associated with overweight and/or obesity have been well demonstrated, but many of the existing studies only examined these relationships at one point of time, and did not examine whether significant relationships changed over time. Furthermore, only limited previous research has examined the issue of the relationship between perception of weight status and actual weight status, as well as factors that may impact on people¡¦s perception of their body weight status. Aims: The aims of the proposed research are to analyse the discrepancy between perceptions of weight status and actual weight status in Australian adults; to examine if there are trends in perceptions of weight status in adults between 1995 to 2004/5; and to propose a range of health promotion strategies and furth er research that may be useful in managing physical activity, healthy diet, and weight reduction. Hypotheses: Four alternate hypotheses are examined by the research: (1) there are associations between independent variables (e.g. socio -demographic factors, physical activity and dietary habits) and overweight and/or obesity; (2) there are associations between the same independent variables and the perception of overweight; (3) there are associations between the same independent variables and the discrepancy between weight status and perception of weight status; and (4) there are trends in overweight and/or obesity, perception of overweight, and the discrepancy in Australian adults from 1995 to 2004/5. Conceptual Framework and Methods: A conceptual framework is developed that shows the associations identified among socio -demographic factors, physical activity and dietary habits with actual weight status, as well as examining perception of weight status. The three latest National Health Survey data bases (1995 , 2001 and 2004/5) were used as the primary data sources. A total of 74,114 Australian adults aged 20 years and over were recruited from these databases. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses (One -Way ANOVA tests, unpaired t-tests and Pearson chi-square tests), and multinomial logistic regression modelling were used to analyse the data. Findings: This research reveals that gender, main language spoken at home, occupation status, household structure, private health insurance status, and exercise are related to the discrepancy between actual weight status and perception of weight status, but only gender and exercise are related to the discrepancy across the three time point s. The current research provides more knowledge about perception of weight status independently. Factors which affect perception of overweight are gender, age, language spoken at home, private health insurance status, and diet ary habits. The study also finds that many factors that impact overweight and/or obesity also have an effect on perception of overweight, such as age, language spoken at home, household structure, and exercise. However, some factors (i.e. private health insurance status and milk consumption) only impact on perception of overweight. Furthermore, factors that are rel ated to people’s overweight are not totally related to people’s underestimation of their body weight status in the study results. Thus, there are unknown factors which can affect people’s underestimation of their body weight status. Conclusions: Health promotion and education activities should provide education about population health education and promotion and education for particular at risk sub -groups. Further research should take the form of a longitudinal study design ed to examine the causal relationship between overweight and/or obesity and underestimation of body weight status, it should also place more attention on the relationships between overweight and/or obesity and dietary habits, with a more comprehensive representation of SES. Moreover, further research that deals with identification of characteristics about perception of weight status, in particular the underestimation of body weight status should be undertaken.

Practitioner influence on contact lens prescribing in the UK

Contact lenses are mainly fitted by registered optometrists and contact lens opticians in the UK. Data we have gathered from annual contact lens fitting surveys over the past 12 years indicate that, on average, registered optometrists and contact lens opticians undertake 3.2 and 7.1 contact lens fits per week (p < 0.0001). More experienced practitioners tend to fit older patients. Practitioners fitting more lenses per year tend to fit a higher proportion of soft lenses. Contact lens opticians tend to fit a higher proportion of patients with planned replacement and daily disposable lenses compared with optometrists.

International rigid contact lens prescribing

Rigid lenses have been fitted less since the introduction of soft lenses nearly 40 years ago. Data that we have gathered from annual contact lens fitting surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the USA between 2000 and 2008 facilitate an accurate characterization of the pattern of the decline of rigid lens fitting during the first decade of this century. There is a trend for rigid lenses to be utilized primarily for refitting those patients who are already successful rigid lens wearers—most typically older females being refit with higher Dk materials. Rigid lenses are generally fitted on a full-time basis (four or more days of wear per week) without a planned replacement schedule. Orthokeratology is especially popular in the Netherlands, but is seldom prescribed in the other countries surveyed.

Daily disposable contact lens prescribing around the world

Daily disposable contact lenses were introduced into the market 16 years ago. Data that we have gathered from annual contact lens fitting surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the USA between 2000 and 2008 indicates an overall increase in daily disposable lens fitting during this period. Daily disposable lenses are especially popular in Japan, Norway and the UK. There is a trend for these lenses to be fitted on a part-time basis. Males are over-represented in daily disposable lens fitting—a trend that is especially evident in Canada. Daily disposable lens wearers are about two years younger than wearers of reusable lenses in Japan and The Netherlands. The convenience and health benefits of daily disposable lenses are expected to fuel continued growth in this sector.

An international survey of contact lens prescribing for presbyopia

Purpose: The aim was to determine world-wide patterns of fitting contact lenses for the correction of presbyopia. Methods: Up to 1,000 survey forms were sent to contact lens fitters in each of 38 countries between January and March every year over five consecutive years (2005 to 2009). Practitioners were asked to record data relating to the first 10 contact lens fittings or refittings performed after receiving the survey form. Results: Data were received relating to 16,680 presbyopic (age 45 years or older) and 84,202 pre-presbyopic (15 to 44 years) contact lens wearers. Females are over-represented in presbyopic versus pre-presbyopic groups, possibly reflecting a stronger desire for the cosmetic benefits of contact lenses among older women. The extent to which multifocal and monovision lenses are prescribed for presbyopes varies considerably among nations, ranging from 79 per cent of all soft lenses in Portugal to zero in Singapore. There appears to be significant under-prescribing of contact lenses for the correction of presbyopia, although for those who do receive such corrections, three times more multifocal lenses are fitted compared with monovision fittings. Presbyopic corrections are most frequently prescribed for full-time wear and monthly replacement. Conclusions: Despite apparent improvements in multifocal design and an increase in available multifocal options in recent years, practitioners are still under-prescribing with respect to the provision of appropriate contact lenses for the correction of presbyopia. Training of contact lens practitioners in presbyopic contact lens fitting should be accelerated and clinical and laboratory research in this field should be intensified to enhance the prospects of meeting the needs of presbyopic contact lens wearers more fully.

International contact lens prescribing in 2010

For the past nine years, we have described the current state of contact lens fitting worldwide in Contact Lens Spectrum. This year, we report on 24,642 lens fits in 27 markets. As in all previous years, coordinators in each market distributed up to 1,000 paper or electronic survey forms to contact lens practitioners who, in turn, collected information about their next 10 fits. Data were processed and checked in the survey administrative offices in Manchester, United Kingdom and in Waterloo, Canada.

International contact lens prescribing in 2011

This is the 11th annual report of contact lens prescribing trends that we have prepared for Contact Lens Spectrum. Each year, we capture current modes of contact lens practice by asking practitioners in each market (optometrists, opticians or ophthalmologists, as appropriate) to provide information about the first 10 lens fits undertaken after receiving our paper or electronic survey form. In 2011, we captured information about 22,362 fits in 29 countries.

The role of RGPs in modern practice

Has the 1998 prediction of a well-known contact lens researcher – that rigid contact lenses will be obsolete by the year 2010 – come to fruition? This Eulogy to RGPs will demonstrate why it has. A recent survey of international contact lens prescribing trends shows that rigid lenses constituted less than 5% of all contact lenses prescribed in 16 out of 27 nations surveyed. This compares with rigid lenses representing 100% of all lenses prescribed 1965 and about 40% in 1990). With the wide range of sophisticated soft lens materials available today, including super-permeable silicone hydrogels, and designs capable of correcting astigmatism and presbyopia, there is now no need to fit cosmetic patients with rigid lenses, with the associated intractable problems of rigid lens-induced ptosis, 3 and 9 o’clock, staining, lens binding, corneal warpage and adaptation discomfort. Orthokeratology is largely a fringe application of marginal efficacy, and the notion that rigid lenses arrest myopia progression is flawed. That last bastion of rigid lens practice – fitting patients with severely distorted corneas as in keratoconus – is about to crumble in view of a number of demonstrations by independent research groups of the efficacy of custom-designed wavefront-corrected soft contact lenses for the correction of keratoconus. It is concluded that rigid contact lenses now have no place in modern contact lens practice.