Acute otitis media and age at onset among children in Greenland

This survey examines the age at onset of acute otitis media (AOM) in 591 un selected Greenlandic children aged 3, 4, 5 and 8 years from the two largest towns in Greenland. The attendance rate was 86%. Parental information abou t episodes of AOM was cross-checked in medical records, which were availabl e for 95% of the children. AOM was defined as episodes with earache, otorrh oea or previous treatment for AOM, with written otoscopic evidence of AOM r esulting in treatment with weak analgetics or antibiotics. Recurrent AOM (r AOM) was defined as greater than or equal to 5 AOM episodes since birth. In total, 66% of the children had experienced AOM at least once. Of all child ren. 40% had AOM during the first year of life. Median age of the first epi sode was 10 months (range: 1-84 months), and there was no sex difference. C hildren between 7 and 12 months of age were at highest risk of AOM I. Child ren with rAOM had their first AOM episode at a significantly younger age th an children with < 5 AOM episodes (median: 7 months, range: 2-48 months). I n addition, 83% of children with rAOM had their first AOM? episode before 1 2 months of age compared with 53% Of children with < 5 episodes (p < 0.0001 ). The relative risk of rAOM was eight times greater if the first episode o f AOM occurred before six months of age compared to more than 24 months of age. Thirty-five percent of children with rAOM had chronic otitis media as well, compared to only 4% of children with < 5 AOM episodes. We conclude th at early onset of AOM (before one year of age) occurs Frequently in Greenla ndic children compared to others, and a high proportion of these children d evelop rAOM.