Is there a relationship between proximity to industry and the occurrence of otitis media with effusion in school entrant children?

In a study of the relationship between the prevalence of persistent otitis media with effusion (OME) in school entrant children in Redcar and Cleveland and the distance of the homes of these children from known industrial emission points, 1156 school entrant children were screened for the presence of persistent OME. The social disadvantage scores and map references were determined from the postcode area of each of the study entrants and map references were also obtained of known industrial emission points in the locality. Analyses were conducted on the association between the presence of OME and distance from emission sources and between the presence of OME and disadvantage score. A significantly greater proportion of study entrants with OME lived within 1000 metres of an industrial emission point than further away. However, there was no trend established between the proportion of study entrants with OME and increasing distance from an emissions source, nor was there any significant relationship established between the social disadvantage score of the areas of residence of the study entrants and the presence of OME. Further research is required to establish the effect of confounding variables on this relationship.