Prevalence of Tympanic Membrane Perforations Among Adolescents, Adults, and Older Adults in the United States

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Tympanic membrane (TM) perforations can occur at any age, but limited population-level data are available. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of the prevalence and population estimates for TM perforations among individuals ≥12 years old in the United States. Overall, TM perforations have a prevalence of 2.1% (95% CI, 1.7%-2.6%), corresponding to 5.8 million Americans. Across the life course, older adults have the highest prevalence of TM perforations at 6.1% (95% CI, 4.7%-7.6%), corresponding to nearly 3 million Americans, as opposed to a prevalence of 0.6% (95% CI, 0.3%-0.9%) in adolescents, which equates to 0.2 million Americans. Males and females have a similar prevalence at 2.3% (95% CI, 1.6%-3.0%) among males and 2.0% (95% CI, 1.4%-2.6%) among females. These prevalence and population estimates provide the first US-based population estimates of the burden of TM perforations over the life course.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)356-358
Number of pages3
JournalOtolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States)
Volume167
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2022

Keywords

  • TM
  • perforation
  • prevalence
  • tympanic membrane

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Otorhinolaryngology

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