Otitis Media and Ventilation Tube Insertion and Quality of Life in a Rural Population in Denmark: Data From the LOFUS Cohort

Abstract

Background:

Otitis media (OM) is among the most common infections in childhood. Approximately 60% of all children will experience 1 or more episodes of OM before the age of 7 years, and 26% of children in Denmark are treated with ventilation tube insertion (VTI) before the age of 7 years. Previous studies investigating the effects of VTI on quality of life (QoL) for children and caregivers from urban areas have yielded conflicting results. Here, we investigate how OM and VTI affect the QoL in children and their families in a rural area of Denmark.

Methods:

We have performed a cross-sectional population-based questionnaire survey in the LOFUS cohort where caregivers of 1169 children aged 2 to 10 years, answered questions on how OM affects the child’s and their family’s general QoL. We used Visual Analog Scales from 0 (no effect) to 10 (worst possible effect) to score the impact on QoL.

Results:

In total, 480 children (43%) reported no episodes of OM, 385 (35%) experienced 1 to 3 episodes, and 247 (22%) experienced more than 3 episodes. Twenty-six percent of the total childhood cohort and 47% of children who reported OM had had VTI procedure performed. We found an odds ratio (OR) of 1.54 (0.36-10.62) and 2.66 (0.62-18.41) for poorer QoL in the affected child and an OR of 1.13 (0.26-7.91) and 1.91 (0.43-13.34) for poorer QoL in the family, for 1 to 3 and >3 episodes, respectively. VTI yielded an OR of 2.13 (95% CI = 1.48-3.08, P < .001) and 2.27 (95% CI = 1.54-3.37, P < .001) for poorer QoL on children’s and family’s QoL, respectively.

Conclusion:

Our study shows a high frequency of reported OM and a high frequency of VTI procedures performed in a rural population in Denmark. Furthermore, the study shows an association between VTI and poorer QoL in the children and in their families.