title: Otitis media: is precursor of delayed reading in Arabic speaking children?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relation between otitis media in the language acquisition years and the occurrence of delayed reading between the ages of 7 and 10.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 40 children, half of whom had a history of otitis media between the ages of birth and three years and half who were free of the disease. These children, now ages 7-10, were tested with the Stanford Beint and Arabic Dyslexia Assessment Test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with a history of otitis media scored over a year below grade level in reading and significantly below controls on Arabic Dyslexia Assessment tests as well as on the Verbal IQ factor on the Stanford Binet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children with early onset otitis media (birth to three years) tend to be at greater risk for delayed reading than age-matched controls.
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt.
authors.forename: Safinaz Nagib
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Azab
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt. Electronic address: shokr_samir@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Samir Shokr A
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rhman
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004410:Dyslexia; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D011932:Reading; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D014705:Verbal Behavior
keywords: Arabic; Language acquisition; Otitis media; Reading