A Prospective Epidemiological Investigation of Secretory Otitis media and Tubal Dysfunction in Children Attending Day-Care Centers

Abstract

The present investigation included 373 children aged 9 months to 7 years, cared for in nine kindergartens and one nursery home. Serial tympanometries were carried out at 2-week intervals. A Madsen Electronics ZS 330 tympanoscope was used for the measurements. To identify A, C₁, C₂ and B tympanograms, middle ear pressure, compliance and stapedial reflex were measured. After correction for age and other factors which could influence the prevalence of B and C₂ tympanograms (number of siblings and parental smoking, which was included in an investigation of the indoor environment of the same children), no significant difference was found in the prevalence of these types of tympanograms, even though the number of children attending the different day-care centers ranged from 19 to 72. No significant difference was found in the prevalence of the A, C₁, C₂ and B tympanograms between right and left ears, but there was a significant difference in the prevalence of the A tympanograms in boys and girls, but not in C₁, C₂ and B tympanograms. The maximum prevalence of B tympanograms was found in 1 -year-old children, decreasing to the age of 7 years.

Otitis Media in Greenland: studies on historical, epidemiological, microbiological, and immunological aspects

“…The study confirmed the high prevalence rate s of especially SOM and COM including CSOM compared with prevalence studies from Denmark and Sweden (Lous and Fiellau-Nikolajsen 1981, lngvarsson et al 1982, Fiellau-Nikolajsen 1983, Tos 1983, Birch et al 1984). The present survey did not use otomicroscopy, and took place in two relatively short and different time periods at two different localities.…”

The frequency of otitis media with effusion in British pre-school children: a guide for treatment

“…studied 373 Scandinavian children aged 9 months to 7 years. 19 They recorded the distribution of bilateral and unilateral type B tympanograms by age for children in day care; the maximum proportion of bilateral B tympanograms was in children aged 1 years. In our study, bilateral B's were maximal at age 8 months.…”

Risk of Infectious Diseases in Children Attending Different Types of Day-Care Setting

“…This observation is particularly impor tant because evidence suggests that frequent episodes (es pecially of otitis media) may adversely affect neurocognitive and language development [8] and lead to numerous medical and surgical treatments [9]. Several studies in Scandinavia [3,4,10] showed that the prevalence of abnormal tympanograms ranged from 5 to 8% in children at home or attending family day care, respectively, com pared to 24% in children attending DCCs.…”