Otitis Media in Early Childhood and Its Relationship to Later Verbal and Academic Performance

Roberts, Jason M.; Sanyal, Margaret A.; Burchinal, Margaret; Collier, Albert M.; Ramey, Craig T.; Henderson, Frederick W.

doi:10.1542/peds.78.3.423

Cited by 84 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…OM has also been associated with later academic difficulties (Brandes & Ehinger, 1981;Silva et al, 1986;Zinkus & Gottlieb, 1980). In contrast with such findings, other studies have failed to document this relation (e.g., Hubbard, Paradise, McWilliams, Elster, & Taylor, 1985;Roberts et al, 1986;Wright et al, 1988).…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

The role of otitis media in the development of expressive language disorder.

Lonigan

Fischel²,

Whitehurst³

et al. 1992

Developmental Psychology

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The role of otitis media (OM) was investigated in a group of preschool children with a rigorously defined language impairment: developmental expressive language disorder (ELD). No differences in the frequency, duration, or timingof medically documented episodes of OM were found between 65 ELD and 50 normal children. However, longitudinal analyses with the ELD children revealed a relation between OM and expressive language improvement. The strongest positive predictor of language improvement between 2 and 3 years of age was the amount of time spent with OM between 12 and 18 months of age. These findings suggest that children with ELD represent 2 etiological populations depending on a history of OM. When ELD is influenced strongly by OM during a critical period for the development of expressive language, improvement is highly likely. However, in the absence of such a history, the causes of ELD are likely to be more central and long-lasting. The absence of between-groups differences, coupled with the predictive power of OM history within the ELD group, suggests either that another factor interacts with OM to cause ELD or that OM depresses development for all children.Otitis media (OM), or inflammation of the middle ear, is a common disease of infancy and early childhood. Approximately 50% of all children experience at least one episode of OM during the 1st year of life, and by 3 years of age, approximately two thirds of all children experience at least one episode; one third of all children experience three or more episodes of OM prior to age 3 (Howie, 1980;Teele, Klein, & Rosner, 1980. During the acute phase of OM, children may experience pain, fever, and other overtly expressed symptoms. OM is typically associated with fluid in the ear (effusion) that persists after the acute phase of the infection has passed (Bluestone, 1984;Marchant et al, 1984;Teele et al., 1980Teele et al., ,1984. The occurrence of OM is often associated with conductive hearing loss of a transient nature and may lead to chronic auditory impairment (Bess, 1983;Fria, Cantekin, & Eicher, 1985; Wright etal., 1988).Several studies have found a relation between an early history of OM and later problems in language development. For instance, Teele et al. (1984) followed a cohort of 205 children from birth to 3 years of age. The presence of OM was periodically assessed by otoscopic examination. Tests of speech and

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mentioning

confidence: 89%

The role of otitis media in the development of expressive language disorder.

Lonigan

Fischel²,

Whitehurst³

et al. 1992

Developmental Psychology

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“…They also found that children with a hearing loss of 20 dB or greater during episodes of otitis media had poorer scores on the SICD when they were well. A few other studies have also found some effect on early language development (Teele et al, 1984; Wallace, Gravel, McCarton, & Ruben, 1988), but there is much less support for long-term effects on basic language skills (Fischler, Todd, & Feldman, 1985; Roberts et al, 1986).…”

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confidence: 96%

The effects of otitis media on the attention skills of day-care-attending toddlers.

Feagans¹,

Kipp

Blood

1994

Developmental Psychology

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The purpose of this study was to try to understand whether otitis media (OM) affected toddlers' attention to language. The children in the sample were seen in their day care at 12 or 18 months of age in a book-reading task when they had OM and when they were well. Children's hearing was evaluated and they were given the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development at 24 months of age. Over half of the sample could be classified as having chronic OM (about 5 months per year). Half of the children were in high-quality and half in low-quality day care. Results suggested that children with chronic OM in low-quality care showed the most negative effects on attention during episodes of otitis, with the children with chronic OM displaying less attention during book reading and twice as often off-task in comparison with the nonchronic children. Mothers rated children with chronic OM as more distractible and nonattentive. Language differences did not emerge among the groups.

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