Skeletal Evidence for Otitis Media in Mediaeval and Post‐Mediaeval Children from Poland, Central Europe

Abstract

In palaeopathological research, otitis media (OM) is a rarely reported disease, although it is one of the most common diseases of childhood, with potentially severe consequences resulting in physical and social impairment, or even death. The episodes of OM are often preceded by upper respiratory tract infections, though the aetiology of OM is multifactorial, with significant role of environmental factors. In archaeological skeletons, middle ear inflammation is identified as erosive lesions and new bone formation of auditory ossicles. The aim of this study was to examine the skeletal signs of OM in children from a mediaeval early urban site (Cedynia) and a post‐mediaeval rural site (Słaboszewo) located on the territory of Poland. Among the entire sample (N = 435), ear bones were present in 99 skeletons. The total of 168 ossicles were examined. The general frequency of individuals with eroded ossicles was 47.5% (53.4% in Cedynia and 39.0% in Słaboszewo). In the total sample, 33.9% of ear bones showed pathological changes, with the incudes being most frequently affected. The frequency of altered ossicles was significantly higher in the early urban site than in the rural settlement (42.2% vs 25.9%, respectively; Fisher exact test, p = 0.0339). The children aged 0–3 years old tend to have a higher frequency of altered ear bones than the children aged 4–11 years old. The majority of the mastoid processes of the subadults with ear bone erosion show abnormal pneumatisation pattern. The results indicate that the environmental and socio‐cultural conditions in the stronghold likely made their inhabitants more prone to upper respiratory tract infections than the inhabitants of the village. A variety of factors may be responsible for this pattern, such as exposure to dust, environmental pollution, indoor pollution, wood smoke, occupation, population density, sanitation and quality of housing. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Child murder in the Early Bronze Age: proteomic sex identification of a cold case from Schleinbach, Austria

“…Otitis media, in acute or chronic form, is one of the most common infectious diseases affecting primarily children under seven. They were painful, dangerous and potentially lethal due to consecutive illnesses like meningitis, especially under prehistoric conditions, as no effective treatment was available (Krenz-Niedbała and Łukasik 2017 ). Hearing impairment might develop with the chronic form, which negatively influences the development of speech and children’s behaviour (Aarhus et al 2015 ; Khairi et al 2010 ).…”

Growth and health status of children and adolescents in medieval Central Europe

“…Those three sites are located in Poland, lowland lake areas, at the distance below 250 km. In total, 257, 194, and 178 subadult skeletons have been examined from Cedynia, Ostrów Lednicki, and Słaboszewo, respectively (Table 1) and the results were published by Krenz-Niedbała (2009;2016), and Krenz-Niedbała and Łukasik (2016;Early View). The samples of Cedynia, Ostrów Lednicki nad Słaboszewo represent rather homogenous populations in terms of ethnicity and religion (Latin Christianity).…”

Identification of critical windows in early development of human upper respiratory tract and middle ear disease

“…OM is exclusive to humans, emerging as a byproduct of long‐term evolutionary trends in gestational length and the URT morphology of newborns (Bluestone, 2005b, 2008). Evidence of OM has been found in populations ranging temporally among the Paleolithic (Pagano, Márquez, & Laitman, 2019; Quam & Rak, 2008), Neolithic (Purchase, 2016), medieval (Qvist and Gøntved, Qvist & Grøntved, 2001; Krenz‐Niedbała & Łukasik, 2017), and contemporary (Bluestone, 2005a) periods. Approximately 11% of the current world population will acquire some form of OM each year, the majority being under 3 years of age (de Antonio et al, de Antonio, Yarzabal, Cruz, Schmidt, & Kleijnen, 2016).…”