P. Homoe et al., PREVALENCE OF OTITIS-MEDIA IN A SURVEY OF 591 UNSELECTED GREENLANDIC CHILDREN, International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 36(3), 1996, pp. 215-230
In an unselected survey in two Greenlandic towns, 591 children were ex
amined to study the prevalence of otitis media (OM). The attendance ra
te in Nuuk was 80%, while 93% participated in Sisimiut. The children w
ere three-, four-, five- and eight-years-old and represented 18% of ch
ildren in these age groups in all Greenland. In total, 51.7% in Nuuk a
nd 54.1% in Sisimiut presented pathologic middle ear affections rangin
g from slight to severe. The prevalence rates of chronic OM (COM) were
6.8% in Nuuk and 11.7% in Sisimiut (P = 0.055) but without significan
t age or sex difference. The acute OM point prevalence rate was betwee
n 1.5% and 0.4%. The prevalence rate of middle ear effusion (MEE) was
between 23.0% and 28.2%. Secretory OM was significantly more prevalent
in the younger age groups. The odds ratio of having COM was significa
ntly higher in children with two Greenlandic born parents (3.07) than
in children with only one Greenlandic born parent. A follow-up study a
fter one year in Sisimiut revealed unchanged or aggravated middle ear
disease in 56.8% of 82 children with middle ear pathology at the prima
ry survey. Thus, OM persists as a major health problem among Greenland
ic children, although the general socio-economic and medical condition
s have improved during the last decades. Proposals are provided for in
creased otologic efforts.