Association between maternal insecticide use and otitis media in one-year-old children in the Japan Environment and Children\u2019s Study

Tohru Utsunomiya ,Hideki Hasunuma,Yoshinori Taniguchi ,Chisato Mori ,Zentaro Yamagata ,Koichi Hashimoto ,Koichi Kusuhara ,Takeo Nakayama ,Michihiro Kamijima ,Narufumi Suganuma ,Reiko Kishi ,Nobuo Yaegashi ,Hiroyasu Iso ,Yukihiro Ohya ,Hidekuni Inadera ,Shin Yamazaki ,Shuichi Ito ,Youichi Kurozawa ,Yasuhiro Takeshima,Masayuki Shima,Yasuhiko Tanaka,Masumi Okuda,Naoko Taniguchi,Tetsuro Fujino,Takahiko Katoh

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05433-2

Abstract

Otitis media (OM) is common among young children and is related to hearing loss. We investigated the association between maternal insecticide use, from conception to the first and second/third trimesters, and OM events in children in the first year of age. Data from Japan Environment and Children's Study were used in this prospective cohort study. Characteristics of patients with and without history of OM during the first year of age were compared. The association between history of OM in the first year and insecticide use was evaluated using logistic regression analysis. The study enrolled 98,255 infants. There was no significant difference in the frequency of insecticide use between groups. Insecticide use of more than once a week from conception to the first trimester significantly increased the occurrence of OM in children in the first year (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.67). The association between OM in the first year and insecticide use from conception to the first trimester was only significant in the group without daycare attendance (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.30–2.38). Maternal insecticide use more than once a week from conception to the first trimester significantly increased OM risk in offspring without daycare attendance.

Highlights

Otitis media (OM) is common among young children and is related to hearing loss
We compared the frequency of maternal insecticide use both after conception to the first and second/third trimesters between the OM group and no OM group (Table 1)
Whether children were affected with OM for the first year was significantly associated with that mothers used insecticide more than once a week from conception to the first trimester in sub-group of no attendance to daycare (Table 4)

Summary

Introduction

We investigated the association between maternal insecticide use, from conception to the first and second/third trimesters, and OM events in children in the first year of age. The association between OM in the first year and insecticide use from conception to the first trimester was only significant in the group without daycare attendance (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.30–2.38). Maternal insecticide use more than once a week from conception to the first trimester significantly increased OM risk in offspring without daycare attendance. We aimed to investigate the association between children’s OM history at the age of one and the frequency of maternal insecticide use both from conception to the first and second/third trimesters

Objectives

Results

Conclusion