Low-Level Red Light for the Progression Myopia in Children: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis aims to systematically analyze the efficacy of low-level red light (LRL) therapy for myopia control and prevention in children. All the data were searched from the PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. The Cochrane Handbook was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Additionally, this meta-analysis was performed by using the Revman 5.4 software. Inclusion criteria was randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and the patient populations were younger than 18 years. Eight RCTs were included in this study. Compared with control group, LRL treatment could reduce the progression in spherical equivalent refractive (SER) for myopia children (MD, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.71; p < .00001). Also, less change in axial length (AL) and increase in subfoveal choroid thickness (SFCT) was shown in the LRL group for both myopia and premyopia children (MD, -0.24, 28.16; 95% CI, -0.32 to -0.17, 18.78 to 37.55; p < .00001, respectively). Our meta-analysis shows that LRL therapy could delay the refraction progression of myopia children. It also could reduce progression in axial length and SFCT thinning in both myopia and premoypia children.