Increasing Prevalence of Recurrent Otitis Media Among Children in the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Background. The number of visits for otitis media, the most common diagnosis among preschool children, has increased during the past decade. This study was undertaken to determine whether there has been a concurrent increase in the prevalence of recurrent otitis media among children in the United States and to identify risk factors or demographic changes to explain the increase.Methods. Although the prevalence of recurrent otitis increased with age, the greatest increase in recurrent otitis media occurred in infants (OR ‫؍‬ 1.9, CI ‫؍‬ 1.3, 2.9). Factors independently associated with recurrent otitis were any allergic condition (OR ‫؍‬ 1.9, CI ‫؍‬ 1.7, 2.2); survey year (OR ‫؍‬ 1.7, CI ‫؍‬ 1.5, 1.9); Black race (OR ‫؍‬ .6, CI ‫؍‬ .5, .7); Hispanic ethnicity (OR ‫؍‬ .8, CI ‫؍‬ .6, .9); day care (OR ‫؍‬ 1.5, CI ‫؍‬ 1.3, 1.7); out-of-home care by an unrelated sitter (OR ‫؍‬ 1.3, CI ‫؍‬ 1.1, 1.6); and male gender (OR ‫؍‬ 1.2, CI ‫؍‬ 1.1, 1.3). From 1981 to 1988, there were significant increases in some risk factors associated with recurrent otitis media, including day care (11% vs 21%) and allergic conditions (14% vs 18%).Conclusions. We conclude that there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of recurrent otitis media among children in the United States, particularly in infants. The increased prevalence of recurrent otitis media was associated with an increase in the use of child care and a higher prevalence of allergic conditions among children. Pediatrics 1997;99(3). URL: http://www. pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/99/3/e1; otitis media, recurrent otitis media, day care, child care,

The incidence, prevalence and burden of OM in unselected children aged 1–8 years followed by weekly otoscopy through the “common cold” season

“…However, because some of the signs/symptoms diagnostic for AOM overlap those for a cold-like illness (CLI) which is most often the appreciable expression of a viral upper respiratory tract infection (vURI) and a known precipitant of OM 10-13 , clinical certainty with respect to assignment to this subcategory is undermined. Also, many studies of AOM incidence abstracted the reported presentations from large data bases representing multiple health care providers [14][15][16][17] , and given the variable the skills of the contributing physicians 18 , the quality of those data is uncertain.…”

Black-White Differences in Health Care Utilization Among US Children With Frequent Ear Infections

“…20 -24 Observations on whether there are racial differences in the prevalence of OM vary. Although clinic-based research and survey data from national samples indicated that black children were less likely than white children to have either acute OM or FEI, 13,[21][22][23] other researchers, using active surveillance, monthly study visits, and objective diagnostic criteria, found similar rates of OM during the first 2 years of life. 4,25 They speculated that racial disparities observed in other studies may be attributable to differential access to health care, differential rates of detecting OM, or both.…”

Heparin for colorectal cancer

“…The decreased frequency of acute mastoiditis has been ascribed to antibiotics, but improvements in social conditions, in particular housing and nutrition, are key elements whose contributions remain unclear. In the USA there are concerns regarding possible increases in recurrent otitis media 9 and mastoiditis 10 ; however, for the Birmingham Children's Hospital (serving a population of about one million children within the West Midlands) the number of cases of mastoiditis remained unchanged between 1993 and 1998 at roughly 6 per annum.…”