title: Obesity and the risk of chronic rhinosinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and acute otitis media in school-age children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if obesity is a significant risk factor for acute otitis media (AOM), allergic rhinitis (AR), or chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in children and to understand the potential otolaryngological implications of childhood obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-Sectional Analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 2006 and 2008 the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey was utilized to identify school-aged children with AOM, AR, and/or CRS. Risk factors for the diagnoses extracted included standard demographics and the presence or absence of obesity. Multivariate analyses were conducted for associations between childhood obesity and AOM, AR, and CRS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  42.1 million (95% CI, 40.4-44.2) school-age children (unweighted N = 10623) were sampled in 2006 and 2008. There was a slight male predominance (51.0% [95% CI, 49.8-52.2]). Of these patients, 2.2 million (95% CI 1.9-2.4) received a diagnosis of AOM, 4.0 million (95% CI 3.6-4.4) received a diagnosis of AR, and 1.7 million (95% CI 1.4-1.9) received a diagnosis of CRS. Approximately 9.3 million (95% CI 8.7-10.0) children were obese, representing 22.2% (95% CI 21.0-23.3) of the U.S. population (age 6-17). Utilizing an adjusted multivariate model, childhood obesity was found to be associated with AOM (odds ratio, 1.44; [95% CI 1.08-1.93]; P = 0.033). Significant associations between obesity and AR (OR 1.14; [95% CI 0.88-1.47]; P = 0.60) or obesity and CRS (OR0.73; [95% CI 0.48-1.10]; P = 0.79) were not identified.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood obesity appears to be associated with the development of AOM; however, an association between obesity and AR or CRS was not demonstrated. Given that in the United States nearly one-fourth of all children seeking health care are obese, these data may have important preventative care implications.
  
  
  METHODS
  2C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sidell
authors.forename: Nina L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhattacharyya
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Otitis media; allergic rhinitis; children; chronic rhinosinusitis; obesity