Relationship between myopia control and amount of corneal refractive change after orthokeratology lens treatment

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the relationship between amount of corneal refractive change (CRC) after wearing orthokeratology (Ortho-K) lenses and axial length (AL) growth. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 77 patients (77 eyes) aged 8–14 years who wore Ortho-K lenses more than 12 months. We divided the patients into 2 subgroups: spherical equivalent (SE) ≤ -3.0 D and SE > -3.0 D subgroup. The sagittal and tangential curvature maps and corneal topographic data within the 8-mm diameter ring at the baseline and during follow-up visits after wearing Ortho-K lens were recorded in addition to the area, height, and volume of the CRC region. The AL data were recorded at the baseline and during follow-up visits. Multivariate linear regression was conducted to analyze associations between the area, height, and volume of the CRC region, AL elongation, and SE. RESULTS: The average change in the CRC region was 9.77 ± 0.60 D in height, 16.66 ± 3.61 mm(2) in area, and 87.47 ± 8.96 D*mm(2) in volume on the tangential diagram after wearing Ortho-K lenses for 3 months. The AL showed a change of 0.19 ± 0.14 mm after 1 year of Ortho-K lens wear (P < 0.05). At 1 year, AL elongation was negatively correlated with the area (P = 0.019) and volume (P < 0.001) of the CRC region. At 1 year, for every 1-mm(2) increase in the area and every 1-D*mm(2) increase in the volume of the CRC region, the average AL elongation decreased by 0.01 mm and 0.002 mm, respectively, in the multivariate analysis. In patients with SE ≤ -3.0 D, AL elongation was negatively correlated with the CRC-region volume (β = -0.002, P = 0.018), and in patients with SE > -3.0 D, AL elongation was negatively correlated with the CRC-region area (β = -0.017, P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: The AL elongation-control efficacy of Ortho-K lenses may be related to the area and volume of the CRC region. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12886-023-03178-8.