Prevalence and natural history of otitis media with perforation in Maori school children

Abstract

New Zealand Maoris are one of five ethnic groups in developed countries known to have a high rate of ear disease, including perforation of the eardrum (CSOM). It is a strongly held belief by otolaryngologists whose practice dates back to the 1960's that the prevalence of CSOM in Maori children is gradually falling. Despite the obvious practical implications this change has not yet been documented.The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of CSOM in two surveys conducted in 1978 and 1987 of children living in a North Island Maori community. A second aim was to examine the natural history of CSOM in these children.The raw data from the 1978 study were reviewed. Of 134 children aged 4–13,12 had CSOM. In 1987 the same age group yielded 12 children out of 250 with CSOM. The prevalence of CSOM fell from 9 per cent to 4 per cent. The incidence of new perforations in 1987 was 1.3 per cent per child per year. It is concluded there has been a fall in the rate of CSOM, although otitis media remains a significant problem for these children.The probability of a perforation healing was influenced by whether or not the perforation had been observed before: at least 35 per cent of perforations seen for the first time healed, but none of the perforations seen on two occsaions healed spontaneously. It was concluded that perforation of the eardrum can be managed conservatively at first.

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

“…Other indigenous populations also suffer from high prevalence of OM (Sunderman and Dyer 1984, Todd and Bowman 1985, Giles and Asher 1991 and studies of the nasopharyngeal colonization with potentially pathogenic bacteria in two of these populations (children in Papua New Guinea and Aboriginal infants) disclosed early and heavy colonization (Lehmann 1992, Leach et al 1994. The findings in Greenlandic children are in accordance with these reports and suggest an association between massive and early load of potentially pathogenic bacteria in the nasopharynx and a high rate of OM.…”

New Zealanders' attitudes to milk: implications for public health

“…There was a higher agreement amongst NZ Maori, which may be related to the higher incidence of respiratory infections 22 and glue ear amongst their children 23 . In general, women had more positive beliefs about the price and health benefits of milk.…”

Prevalence and associated risk factors of otitis media and its subtypes in South Indian population

“…Any chronic defect in tympanic membrane which is accompanied by recurrent otorrhoea can lead to the onset of CSOM. 12,21 Among the study groups, 65.8% of the cases were found to have CSOM indicating it as the most common otological disorder and 97.8% of which were found to be suffering from hearing loss. The prevalence of squamous-CSOM was more compared to mucosal-CSOM which is comparable to the results of the previous studies.…”