[Influence of tonsillar hypertrophy to school-life of children]

The authors examined degree of facial tonsillar hypertrophy for 7190 pupils of elementary schools in nine different areas in Japan. The frequency of the third degree of tonsillar hypertrophy, based on Mackenzie's criteria, decreased gradually from 6.9% of the first-year pupils to 2.9% of the sixth-year pupils with a mean of 4.8%. We also studied the relation between the degree of tonsillar hypertrophy of each pupil and the reply to the questionnaire from his or her teacher regarding various aspects of his or her school-life. The third degree of tonsillar hypertrophy of each pupil and the reply to the questionnaire from his or her teacher regarding various aspects of his or her school-life. The third degree of tonsillar hypertrophy seemed to affect school-life of pupils. For example, the frequency of pupils whose speech can be clearly recognized, was less in pupils with the third degree of tonsillar hypertrophy than in pupils without any tonsillar hypertrophy. Pupils of higher grades with the third degree of tonsillar hypertrophy were classified into two groups. One was the pupils whose school-life was not altered by tonsillar hypertrophy. The other was the pupils who were often absent from school due to chronic or acute tonsillar inflammation.