Background: Otitis media (OM) is a very common condition in children and occurs during years that are critical to\r\nthe development of learning, literacy, and math skills. Therefore, among a large cohort of Danish conscripts, we\r\naimed to examine the association between hospitalisation with OM in early childhood and cognitive function and\r\neducational level in early adulthood.\r\nMethods: We conducted a population-based prevalence study using linked data from healthcare databases and\r\nconscription records of Danish men born between 1977 and 1983. We identified all hospitalisations with OM before\r\n8 years of age. Cognitive function was measured by the Boerge Prien validated group intelligence test (Danish\r\nBÃ?¸rge Prien PrÃ?¸ve, BPP). We adjusted for potential confounders with and without stratification by hearing\r\nimpairment. Furthermore, we examined the association between hospitalisation with OM and the prevalence of\r\nhaving achieved a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), stratified by quartiles of BPP scores.\r\nResults: Of the 18 412 eligible conscripts aged 18ââ?¬â??25 years, 1000 (5.5%) had been hospitalised with OM before age\r\n8. Compared with conscripts without such a record, the adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) for a BPP score in the\r\nbottom quartile was 1.20 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09ââ?¬â??1.33). There was no major difference in the proportion\r\nof men with a GCSE and those without among those hospitalised with OM in early childhood. For men in the\r\nbottom and upper quartiles of BPP scores, the PRs for early childhood hospitalisation with OM were 0.89 (95% CI:\r\n0.59ââ?¬â??1.33) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.88ââ?¬â??1.05), respectively. Among men with severe hearing impairment, the proportion\r\nwith a BPP score in the bottom quartile did not differ between those with and without an OM hospitalisation\r\n[PR = 1.01 (95% CI: 0.78ââ?¬â??1.34)].\r\nConclusions: Overall, we found that hospitalisation with OM in early childhood was associated with a slightly\r\nlower cognitive function in early adulthood. Hospitalisation for OM did not seem to influence the prevalence of\r\nGSCE when level of BPP was taken into account.
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