Epidemiology of Otitis Media: What Have We Learned from the New Century Global Health Disparities

Otitis media (OM) is a continuum of conditions which have a major impact on public health across the globe. Indigenous children in the USA, Canada, Northern Europe, Australia, and New Zealand experience more OM than other children. In some places, indigenous children continue to suffer from the most severe forms of the disease. Higher rates of invasive pneumococcal disease, pneumonia, and chronic suppurative lung disease (including bronchiectasis) are also seen. This chapter will review the rates of OM in these global regions and the factors that influence these rates.