EARLY ACUTE OTITIS-MEDIA AND SIBLINGS ATTENDANCE AT NURSERY

To assess the relation between early acute otitis media and exposure t o respiratory pathogens mediated by siblings and other children, a pro spective cohort of 3754 Norwegian children born in 1992-3 was followed up from birth to 12 months. Of these, 25% had one or more episodes of acute otitis media during the first year. Results from multiple logis tic repression analysis adjusted for confounding showed that siblings' attendance at daycare is the most important risk factor for early acu te otitis media (adjusted odds ratio, OR(adj) = 1.9). The total number of children in the daycare setting is another determinant for early a cute otitis media (OR(adj) = 2.0 in groups of four or more other child ren and OR(adj) = 1.3 in groups of one to three other children, as com pared to those who are cared for alone). Having siblings in daycare ou tside the home and the number of children in the daycare setting are t he most important determinants for early acute otitis media.