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Estimation of otitis media in ancient populations: A study of past and present Greenlandic Inuit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

P. Homøe ,
N. Lynnerup ,
L. T. Skovgaard  and
N. Rasmussen
P. Homøe*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Rigshospitalet. The Laboratory of Biological Anthropologyt, Institute of Medical Anatomy B, Panum InstituteDenmark.
N. Lynnerup
Affiliation:
The Laboratory of Biological Anthropologyt, Institute of Medical Anatomy B, Panum InstituteDenmark. The Institute of Forensic Pathology, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
L. T. Skovgaard
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
N. Rasmussen
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Rigshospitalet.
*
Address for correspondence: Preben Homøe, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, DK 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Fax: (+45) 35452690.
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Abstract

Examination of disease patterns in the past has often been difficult due to lack of morphological evidence. This study presents a new unbiased method estimation of occurences of infectioous middle ear disease (IMED) in childhood. The method is based on the relation between IMED in childhood and small or asymmetric pneumatized cell areas in the temporal bones as seen on standrdised X-rays.

A Polychotomous logitic regression mofel was applied on 434 pneumatized cell areas in temporal bones from 34 adult living Greenlandic Inuit, 56 adult crania from the 18th to the 19th century A. D. and 127 adult inuit crania from the Pre-European colonization period (before A. D. 1721) of Greenland. The occurence of IMED as designated by the model was eight out of 34 (23.5 per cent) in living Inuit, 10 out of 56 (17.9 per cent) in crania form the 18th to 19th century and six out of 127 (4.7 per cent) in crania form the pre/colonization period. These frequencies differed significantly (p<0.002). The mean area size also differed significantly, thus indicating a change in occurence of IMED and a decrease in area sizes from past to presentin Greenland.

Keywords

Otitis mediaTemporal boneAnthropology, physicalEpidemiologyEskimos
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 110 , Issue 12 , December 1996 , pp. 1114 - 1119
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1996

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