Hardy A M, Fowler M G
Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Am J Public Health. 1993 Sep;83(9):1321-5. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.9.1321.
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between child care arrangements and repeated ear infections in young children.
Data on 5818 children younger than 6 years of age were taken from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey of Child Health.
Seventeen percent of the children had had repeated ear infections in the year preceding the interview. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that factors significantly associated with repeated ear infections were age (1 to 2 years), race (White), sex (male), and medical history (repeated tonsillitis, enlarged adenoids, or asthma). When these factors were controlled for, children in a current child care arrangement still had a 50% higher chance of repeated ear infections than did children not in care. Children in day care centers were at higher risk than children cared for in homes. Care in settings with more than six children elevated the risk, but hours per week of care did not.
Decreasing the risk of repeated ear infections in young children in out-of-home child care settings may require smaller group sizes. Given the increasing use of child care, research should continue to identify specific aspects of child care that contribute to this problem.
本研究旨在评估幼儿的 childcare 安排与反复耳部感染之间的关联。
关于 5818 名 6 岁以下儿童的数据取自 1988 年全国儿童健康访谈调查。
17%的儿童在访谈前一年曾反复耳部感染。多因素逻辑回归分析显示，与反复耳部感染显著相关的因素有年龄（1 至 2 岁）、种族（白人）、性别（男）以及病史（反复扁桃体炎、腺样体肥大或哮喘）。在对这些因素进行控制后，当前处于 childcare 安排中的儿童反复耳部感染的几率仍比未接受 childcare 的儿童高 50%。日托中心的儿童比在家中接受照顾的儿童风险更高。在有超过六个孩子的环境中接受照顾会增加风险，但每周的照顾时长则不会。
降低在家庭外 childcare 环境中幼儿反复耳部感染的风险可能需要更小的群体规模。鉴于 childcare 的使用日益增加，研究应继续确定导致这一问题的 childcare 的具体方面。
