Early childhood otitis media in relation to children's attention-related behavior in the first six years of life.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined whether otitis media with effusion (OME) and associated hearing loss during the first 4 years of life were related to the ratings of parents, teachers, and clinicians of children's attention and behavior in the first 6 years of life.


METHODS
In a prospective study, 85 black children were recruited from community-based child care programs when they were between 6 and 12 months old. OME and hearing status were monitored repeatedly from 6 months to 4 years old. Measures of attention and behavior were collected from parents, teachers, and clinicians when the children were infants, preschoolers, and first graders.


RESULTS
On average, children experienced either bilateral or unilateral OME 30% of the time and hearing loss 19.9% of the time between 6 months and 4 years old. Descriptive and inferential analyses revealed no significant associations between OME or hearing loss and the measures of attention or behavior completed by parents, teachers, and clinicians.


CONCLUSIONS
In this sample of children, there was no relationship between amount of early childhood OME or hearing loss and measures of attention or behavior in the first 6 years of life as reported by parents, teachers, and clinicians.otitis media, hearing, attention, behavior.
Minter
K R
KR
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-8180, USA.
Roberts
J E
JE
Hooper
S R
SR
Burchinal
M R
MR
Zeisel
S A
SA
D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003638:Deafness / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000150:complications*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires