抄録
Objective: To investigate the prevalence of otitis media (OM) among Chinese children and to profile the difference between the lower and higher socioeconomic strata of society.
Methods: Two groups of children in Xi'an, China, were selected. Group A comprised children from three kindergartens and four primary schools in rural areas, and group B children from three kindergartens and two primary schools in urban areas. All children aged 2 to 7 years were examined by both otoscopy and tympanometry.
Results: Data of 1,967 children (834 in group A and 1,133 in group B) were analyzed. The overall prevalence rates were 3.71% for otitis media with effusion (OME), 0.51% for chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) and 0.51% for acute otitis media (AOM). Forty-five children (5.40%) in group A and 28 (2.47%) in group B were diagnosed with OME, with a statistically significance difference between the groups (P<0.01). No statistical significance was found between the two groups in the prevalence of CSOM and AOM (P>0.05).
Conclusions: OME is the most prevalent types of otitis media among children in the sampled population; children with lower socioeconomic status were found to have a higher prevalence of OME; and CSOM is not prevalent among children from 2 to 7 years of age in Xi'an.
