PREVALENCE OF OTITIS-MEDIA WITH EFFUSION AMONGST PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA

A cross-sectional screening test was done to determine the prevalence of otitis media with effusion amongst preschool children in two distri ct in Malaysia, namely Kuala Lumpur an urban district and Kuala Selang or a rural district. It involved 1097 preschool children aged between 5 and 6 years old. Presence of otitis media effusion (OME) is based on abnormal otoscopic finding: Type B tympanogram and absence of ipsilat eral acoustical reflex. The overall prevalence rate of OME was 13.8%. The prevalence in Kuala Lumpur was 17.9%, while in Kuala Selangor it w as 9.48%. Bottle feeding during infancy and high socioeconomic status of the parents was statistically associated with higher incidence of O ME. Other factors such as race, premature delivery, passive smoking, a llergy, asthma and family size, had no influence on the prevalence of otitis media with effusion. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.