Epidemiology of acute otitis media in children.

A prospective, longitudinal, epidemiological study of acute otitis media (AOM) in children started in Malmö in 1977 and is planned to continue for about 10 years. All cases of AOM in children are registered. The registration includes the name of the patient, the individual ten-digit birth-number and date and place of diagnosis. The registered information is supplemented with information on the patients' dwelling and type of day-care within the city at the time of diagnosis. All data are computerized. In 1977, all children up to 3 years of age were registered. In each of the following two years, a new age class was included. Since 1980 children up to 15 years have been registered. The results regarding the occurrence of AOM in 1980 show that about 10% of all children under 16 years of age had at least one episode of AOM. The disease was most common among one-year-olds, and about 30% of this age class had at least one episode. The occurrence did not vary with sex. AOM was most common during the winter season. The results of the cohort study of children born in 1977, with an observation time of maximum 48 months, show that children aged 6-11 months run the greatest risk of getting AOM. Fifty-four % of the children had at least one episode before the age of 48 months, and 48% of these children had more than one episode. There was no difference between the sexes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)