Comparison of myopia control efficacy between single vision and highly aspherical Lenslet spectacle lenses in children with low myopia: a 1-year retrospective study

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Single Vision Lenses (SVL) and Highly Aspherical Lenslets (HAL) lenses in the management of low myopia. Methods This retrospective study included school-age children (aged 6–12 years) diagnosed with low myopia who were treated at Chengdu Third People’s Hospital from January 2022 to August 2025. Patients were divided into two groups based on their myopia control intervention: the SVL group and the HAL group. Subgroup analyses were subsequently performed within both groups according to age. The progression in mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) and axial length (AL) was compared among the different groups and subgroups. Results A total of 157 children (87 males 55.41% and 70 females 44.59%) with myopia (right eye only, 157 eyes), aged 6–12 years (mean age, 8.94 ± 1.39 years), were included. The SVL group comprised 49 cases (49 eyes) with an average progression in SER (ΔSER) of −0.70 ± 0.45 D and an average axial length increase (ΔAL) of 0.31 ± 0.19 mm. The HAL group comprised 108 cases (108 eyes) with an average ΔSER of −0.18 ± 0.38 D and an average ΔAL of 0.13 ± 0.16 mm. Within the HAL subgroups, the median ΔAL in the 7-year group was significantly higher than in the 8-year ( p = 0.03), 9-year ( p = 0.009), and 10-year ( p = 0.003) groups. Within the SVL subgroups, the 8-year group had significantly higher ΔAL than the 9-, 10-, and 11-year groups ( p 0.05). Conclusion Single-vision lenses provide only minimal control of myopia progression, whereas specially designed lenses such as HAL lenses effectively slow myopia development—especially by curbing axial elongation. Age is also a critical factor: even with HAL lenses, axial growth remains pronounced in children under 8 years and is more difficult to control. For those who develop myopia at a younger age, combined pharmacological interventions may offer a better strategy than optical correction alone.