A wide range of factors may cause children to become noncompliant with their contact lens wear schedule, with a few top contenders including ocular discomfort, male gender and lower high-contrast VA, a new study suggests.

The investigators analyzed data from 379 children enrolled in a prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial. Participants were between eight and 13 years old, had a cycloplegic spherical equivalent of -0.75D to -3.50D and wore either single vision or myopia control lenses. At every visit, patients answered a questionnaire about days of wear per week, ocular comfort and visual quality. Children were categorized as adherent if they wore their lenses for six or more days a week or non-adherent if they did not.

About 80% of participants who wore single vision lenses were compliant compared with up to 75% of kids who wore myopia control lenses. Unsurprisingly, non-adherence was greater in those who discontinued lens wear.

Visual quality for static and dynamic tasks was lower with non-adherent wearers and more variable between visits. Ocular comfort was also poorer in non-adherent wearers regardless of lens material or design. Additional non-adherence risk factors included lower baseline myopia and esophoria.

Clinicians should pay attention to these findings and take steps to ensure wearing success, which may help reduce contact lens dropout in children, the researchers concluded.