Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.
University of Greenland, Nuussuaq, Greenland.
Int J Circumpolar Health. 2023 Dec;82(1):2183588. doi: 10.1080/22423982.2023.2183588.
To estimate the frequencies of self-reported middle ear and hearing complaints and vertigo/dizziness in adult Greenlanders. Furthermore, to examine if there has been a development in the frequency of these complaints within a 20-year period. A structured questionnaire concerning middle ear disease and related neuro-otological symptoms was mailed to 400 randomly selected adult Greenlanders between 18 and 60 years of age in 1995. In 2014, the questions were included for the same age group in the general Greenlandic Health Survey. The questionnaires contained a total of six identical questions. In 1995, 281 participants (70%) replied to the questionnaire. In 2014, 1,639 participants (78%) replied. We found that in 1995 the two youngest age groups (18-29- and 30-39-year-olds) had the highest relative number of ear discharge. Approximately one-third of the participants in these two age groups reported to have had ear discharge, while this was only reported by 17% of the 18-29-year-olds and 16% of the 30-39-year-olds in 2014 (95% CI [0.03, 0.3] and [0.1, 0.3], respectively). The oldest age group indicated the lowest relative number of experiences of ear discharge in both 1995 and 2014 (18% and 17%, respectively). In 1995, 30% in the age group 30-39-year-olds reported hearing loss, whereas only 18% reported hearing loss in 2014 (p < 0.05, 95% CI [-0.003,0.2]). There was no significant difference in reported ear discharge since childhood and otitis media in childhood among the age groups between 1995 and 2014. However, in 1995 significantly more females had experienced ear discharge in the age groups 18-29 and 30-39 year-olds compared to 2014. Females in the age group 18-29 year-olds also showed a significant difference in having experienced otitis media in childhood, where 32% answered "yes" in 1995, and 18% answered "yes" in 2014 (p < 0.05). In 2014, females reported more frequent complaints of vertigo compared to males, 16% and 9%, respectively (p < 0.05). In 1995, there was no significant difference in experienced vertigo between males and females. Ear and hearing health problems and vertigo are reported frequently in the Greenlandic population. Overall, a tendency of less complaints in 2014 compared to 1995 except for vertigo. It is important to follow this trend and increase the prophylactic efforts to reduce common health disabilities like early otitis media in childhood and noise created symptoms even more.
评估成年格陵兰人中耳和听力投诉以及眩晕/头晕的发生率。此外，检查在 20 年内这些投诉的频率是否有所发展。
1995 年，我们向 400 名年龄在 18 至 60 岁之间的随机成年格陵兰人邮寄了一份关于中耳疾病和相关神经耳科症状的结构化问卷。2014 年，相同年龄组的一般格陵兰健康调查中包含了这些问题。问卷共包含六个相同的问题。1995 年，281 名参与者（70%）回复了问卷。2014 年，1639 名参与者（78%）回复了问卷。
1995 年，最年轻的两个年龄组（18-29 岁和 30-39 岁）的耳分泌物相对数量最高。大约三分之一的参与者报告有耳分泌物，而在这两个年龄组中，只有 17%的 18-29 岁和 16%的 30-39 岁的参与者在 2014 年报告有耳分泌物（95%CI[0.03，0.3]和[0.1，0.3]）。最年长的年龄组在 1995 年和 2014 年都报告了最低的耳分泌物发生率（分别为 18%和 17%）。1995 年，30-39 岁年龄组中有 30%的人报告听力损失，而 2014 年只有 18%的人报告听力损失（p<0.05，95%CI[-0.003，0.2]）。在 1995 年和 2014 年之间，各年龄组之间自童年起报告的耳分泌物和中耳炎没有显著差异。然而，1995 年，与 2014 年相比，更多的女性在 18-29 岁和 30-39 岁年龄组中报告有耳分泌物。18-29 岁年龄组的女性在中耳炎方面也存在显著差异，其中 32%的人在 1995 年回答“是”，而 18%的人在 2014 年回答“是”（p<0.05）。2014 年，女性报告眩晕的频率比男性高，分别为 16%和 9%（p<0.05）。1995 年，男性和女性在经历眩晕方面没有显著差异。在格陵兰人群中，耳部和听力健康问题以及眩晕经常被报告。总的来说，除了眩晕，2014 年的投诉趋势比 1995 年有所减少。重要的是要关注这一趋势，并加大预防力度，以减少常见的健康障碍，如儿童期早期中耳炎和噪声引起的症状。
