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Updated: Aug 10, 2025
Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children
Published on: March 1, 2019
Social distancing cut down the prevalence of acute otitis media in children
Huiqian Yu1, Dantong Gu1, Fangzhou Yu1
1State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, NHC Key Laboratory of Hearing Medicine Research, Department of ENT Institute and Otorhinolaryngology, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Insights
Social distancing measures significantly reduced childhood acute otitis media (AOM) outpatient visits by over 50% during the COVID-19 pandemic. This highlights the effectiveness of public health interventions like social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand hygiene in preventing AOM.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common childhood illness.
- Understanding AOM prevalence trends is crucial for public health.
- The impact of public health interventions on AOM incidence requires investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the unintended benefits of social distancing on AOM prevalence in children.
- To evaluate the reduction in AOM outpatient attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective study comparing daily AOM outpatient attendance in children (6 months to 12 years).
- Data was collected from a tertiary hospital in Shanghai during pre-COVID-19 (2015-2019) and the COVID-19 year (2020).
- Analysis included 24,543 AOM cases, examining age distribution and seasonal trends.
Main Results:
- A significant reduction of 63.6% in daily AOM outpatient attendance was observed in 2020 compared to pre-COVID-19 years.
- Children aged 4-6 years represented the largest proportion of AOM cases (66.2%).
- Pre-COVID-19 AOM incidence showed seasonal fluctuations, peaking in winter and reaching a nadir in summer.
Conclusions:
- Social distancing, mask use, and hand hygiene substantially decreased AOM incidence.
- These public health measures offer a valuable preventive strategy for AOM.
- The findings provide insights into the control of infectious respiratory diseases in children.
Objectives:
To evaluate the additional, unintended benefits of social distancing in cutting down the prevalence of acute otitis media (AOM) in children, especially during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) periods.
Methods:
The daily outpatient attendance of AOM for childhood (from 6 months to 12 years) was compared in the tertiary hospital in Shanghai during pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 year.
Results:
A total of 24,543 AOM cases were included from 2015 to 2020. When age was taken into account, children in kindergarten (aged 4-6) constitute 66.2% (16,236/24,543) of all case, followed by primary school students (6,441/24,543, 26.2%) and preschoolers <3 years old (1,866/24,543, 7.6%). There was an estimated 63.6% (54.32-70.36%) reduction in the daily outpatient attendance of AOM associated with the introduction of social distancing in 2020 (COVID-19 year). The epidemic trend of AOM in 2015-2019 was characterized by seasonal fluctuations, with highest incidence in December (18.8 ± 0.5%) and lower in February (4.5 ± 0.2%), June (3.7 ± 0.7%) and August (3.5 ± 0.5%). And distribution characteristics of different ages in COVID-19 period broadly in line with that in non-pandemic period.
Conclusion:
Seasonal fluctuation in the prevalence of AOM was observed in pre-COVID-19 period (2015-2019), with a peak in winter and a nadir in summer. The >50% drop of outpatient attendance of AOM in 2020 (COVID-19 year) suggest that social distancing, mask effects and good hand hygiene can significantly reduce the incidence of AOM, which provides a preventive and therapeutic point of view for AOM.
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