Photobiomodulation therapy retarded axial length growth in children with myopia: evidence from a 12-month randomized controlled trial evidence

To determine whether photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy can retard ocular axial length (AL) in children with myopia. A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on two consecutive cohorts of 50 eligible children aged 8–12 years with ≤ − 0.75 Diopter (D) of spherical equivalent refraction (SER). Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 25) and treated with PBM therapy or the control group (n = 25) and treated with single vision spectacles only. At the 12-month follow-up, the changes in AL and cycloplegic SER from baseline were both compared between the two groups. In addition, the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFChT), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and central corneal refractive power (CCP) were analysed at the 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-ups, respectively. Among the 50 children, 78% were included at the final follow-up, with a mean age of 9.7 ± 1.5 years and a mean SER of − 2.56 ± 1.70. The mean difference in AL growth between the two groups at 12 months was 0.50 mm (PBM vs. Control, − 0.02 mm ± 0.11 vs. 0.48 mm ± 0.16, P < 0.001), and the mean difference in cycloplegic SER at 12 months was + 1.25 D (PBM vs. Control, + 0.28 D ± 0.26 vs. − 0.97 D ± 0.25, P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in any of the other parameters (including SFChT, ACD, and CCP) between the two groups at any time point. PBM therapy is an effective intervention for slightly decreasing the AL to control myopia in children. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registration Number: ChiCTR2100043619. Registered on 23/02/2021; prospectively registered. http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=121302.