Air Pollution and Otitis Media in Children: A Systematic Review of Literature

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2018 Feb 7

PMID 29401661

Citations 22

Authors

Gayan Bowatte

Rachel Tham

Jennifer L Perret

Michael S Bloom

Guanghui Dong

Nilakshi Waidyatillake

Dinh Bui

Geoffrey G Morgan

Bin Jalaludin

Caroline J Lodge

Shyamali C Dharmage

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Young children are particularly vulnerable to otitis media (OM) which globally affects over 80% of children below the age of 3 years. Although there is convincing evidence for an association between environmental tobacco smoke exposure and OM in children, the relationship with ambient air pollution is not clear. We aimed to systematically review the literature on the relationship between ambient air pollution exposure and OM in children. A systematic search was performed in PubMed and EMBASE databases. Of 934 references identified, 24 articles were included. There is an increasing body of evidence supporting an association between higher ambient air pollution exposure and a higher risk of OM in children. While NO₂ showed the most consistent association with OM, other specific pollutants showed inconsistent associations. Studies were mainly conducted in high/middle income countries with limited evidence from low-income countries. Although there was a general consensus that higher air pollution exposure is associated with a greater prevalence of OM, the evidence for associations with specific pollutants is inconsistent. More well-designed studies on associations between specific air pollutants as risk factors for OM are warranted, especially in low income countries with high air pollution levels.

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