Global, Regional, and National Burdens of Otitis Media From 1990 to 2019: A Population Based Study.
Yan Jin, Xue Yang, Hao Sun and 10 others
PMID 38178304WHAT IT FOUND
Global all-age otitis media rates fell from 1990 to 2019, but age-standardized incidence rose in men and women and in middle-SDI settings.
Burden remained highest in young children and poorer healthcare settings.
Key findings
01The global all-age rate of otitis media incidence decreased from 1990 to 2019 with an average annual percentage change of -0.8.
02Age-standardized incidence increased in both males and females from 1990 to 2019, with an average annual percentage change of 0.1 in each sex.
03The highest age-specific incidence in 2019 was in children aged 1 to 4 years, at 29,127.3 per 100,000 population.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The estimates came from modelled Global Burden of Disease data, not from a single clinical dataset, so the numbers depend on the quality of the underlying sources. Data quality and missing data varied, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In countries with poorer healthcare, lack of diagnostic facilities may have undercounted otitis media cases. Country-level pneumococcal vaccine coverage was not available, so vaccination cannot be linked directly to each country's trend. Specific types of otitis media were not provided separately, so trends cannot be attributed to acute or chronic disease alone. The study did not test an intervention, so it cannot show that vaccines, antibiotics or screening caused the observed changes.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. The supplied text does not report commercial funding or author conflicts.