Relationship of passive cigarette smoking to otitis media

Objective: To determine the effect of passive smoking on otitis media with effusion (OME) and recurrent otitis media (ROM). Design: A case-control study of children who received ventilation tubes and who were followed up for 1 year to determine the risk of developing postop erative otorrhea and early extrusion in relation to exposure to passive cig arette smoke. Setting: Otorhinolaryngology Clinic of Istanbul School of Medicine, Istanbu l, Turkey. Patients: A total of 166 children 3 to 7 years old who required tympanostom y tubes because of OME and ROM (case group) compared with an age-matched co ntrol group of 166 children. The control group consisted of children who di d not meet and never had met criteria for insertion of tympanostomy tubes. Main Outcome Measures: Statistical analysis of factors associated with a hi gher prevalence of OME or ROM, postoperative otorrhea, and early tube extru sion. Results: Passive smoking was a significant risk factor for OME and ROM. The case group was exposed to a mean of 19.6 cigarettes per day vs 14.4 cigare ttes per day for the control group (P<.004). Only maternal smoking was a si gnificant factor (P<.001); no association was found with paternal smoking. Prospective follow-up of the case group showed no significant difference in the clinical course of OME and ROM between maternally exposed and non-mate rnally exposed children. Conclusions: Passive smoking increases the risk of OME and ROM in children between 3 and 7 years-old. The avoidance of daily exposure to domestic toba cco smoke could have a public health impact.