Association of iron deficiency with chronic suppurative otitis media in adults

Abstract

Background

Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory disease globally. Current research suggests a possible association between anaemia and the development of CSOM.

Objectives

The objective of this trial was to investigate the relationship between iron metabolism and chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) in adults aged 20–60 years.

Materials and methods

A consecutive sampling case-control study was used. The study participants were divided into a case group (42 children diagnosed with CSOM) and a control group (42 children with normal ears). Haemoglobin (Hb), Hematocrit (Hct), mean corpuscular volume of erythrocytes (MCV), serum iron level (SI), unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC), total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin (TF), ferritin (Fer) were tested in all the participants, and the results were compared with the normal ranges of the World Health Organization (WHO). The comparative analysis of cases and controls was performed using the Fisher extract test, independence t-test, or Mann–Whitney U test. p-value <.05 was considered statistically significant for correlation.

Results

There were 61 patients with CSOM and 61 controls included in the study. In the case group, 16 out of 61 patients (26.2%) had low ferritin levels and in the control group, 1 out of 61 patients (1.6%) had low ferritin levels (p < .001). In the case group, 6 (9.8%) of 61 patients had IDA, and in the control group, there were no patients with IDA among 61 patients (p = .027). There were significant differences in SI, UIBC, and Fer parameters between the groups.

Conclusions

In adult patients, the incidence of iron deficiency was higher in CSOM patients than in controls. Iron deficiency may be considered a potential risk factor for chronic suppurative otitis media, and serum iron parameters should be evaluated in these CSOM patients and further studies should be conducted to better understand the potential link between iron deficiency and CSOM.

Chinese abstract

背景：慢性化脓性中耳炎（CSOM）是一种全球常见的慢性炎症性疾病。目前的研究表明贫血与CSOM的发生之间可能存在关联。

目的：本试验的目的是探讨铁代谢与20-60 岁成人慢性化脓性中耳炎 (CSOM)之间的关系。

材料和方法：采用连续抽样病例对照研究方式。 研究参与者分为病例组（42 名被诊断患有 CSOM 的儿童）和对照组（42 名的耳朵正常的儿童）。 对所有参与者进行血红蛋白 (Hb)、血细胞比容 (Hct)、红细胞平均血细胞体积 (MCV)、血清铁水平（SI）、不饱和铁结合力（UIBC）、总铁结合力（TIBC）、转铁蛋白（TF）、铁蛋白（Fer）检测, 并将结果与世界卫生组织（WHO）的正常范围进行比较。 病例组与对照组的比较分析

用费舍尔提取物检验、独立性 t 检验或曼-惠特尼 U 检验来进行。 p 值 <.05被认为具有统计学显著性的相关性。

结果：该研究包括 61 名 CSOM 患者和 61 名对照者。 在病例组中, 61 名患者中有 16 名 (26.2%) 铁蛋白水平较低, 对照组中 61 名患者中有 1 名 (1.6%) 铁蛋白水平较低 (p<.001)。 在病例组中, 61 名患者中有 6 名（9.8%）患有 IDA, 而在对照组中, 61 名患者中没有 IDA 患者 (p=.027)。 两组间的 SI、UIBC 和 Fer 参数存在显著差异。

结论：在成年患者中, CSOM 患者缺铁的发生率高于控制组。 缺铁可能被认为是慢性化脓性中耳炎的潜在危险因素, 应评估这些 CSOM 患者的血清铁参数, 并应进行进一步研究以便更好地了解缺铁与 CSOM 之间的潜在联系。

Keywords:

• Iron deficiency
• anemia
• otitis media
• chronic suppurative otitis media
• adults

Author contributions

CJ, LW, and YZ analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; CJ and CS carried out the literature search; ZC and QG assisted with the analyses and provided constructive discussions; All authors contributed to the final version of the article and approved the version as submitted.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the 2018 Army Medical Science and Technology Youth Incubation Program Fund (Approval No. 18QNP047); the 2021 Gansu Provincial Youth Science and Technology Fund (Approval No. 20JR10RA011); the Gansu Provincial Youth Science and Technology Fund (Approval No. 20JR10RA013) and the Major Needs Incubation Project Fund (Approval No. 31920220107).