A Preliminary Study on Acute Otitis Media in Spanish Children with Late Dinner Habits

Ruth Díez, Sergio Verd (), Jaume Ponce-Taylor, Antonio Gutiérrez, María Llull, María-Isabel Martin-Delgado, Olga Cadevall and Jan Ramakers
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Ruth Díez: Department of Pediatrics, Son Espases University Hospital, 07120 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Sergio Verd: Pediatric Unit, La Vileta Surgery, Department of Primary Care, 07013 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Jaume Ponce-Taylor: A&E Unit, Department of Primary Care, 07014 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Antonio Gutiérrez: Department of Hematology, Son Espases University Hospital, 07120 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
María Llull: Pediatric Unit, Esporles Surgery, Department of Primary Care, 07190 Mallorca, Spain
María-Isabel Martin-Delgado: Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), 07120 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Olga Cadevall: Department of Pediatrics, Quiron Rotger Hospital, 07012 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Jan Ramakers: Department of Pediatrics, Son Espases University Hospital, 07120 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-8

Abstract: The timing of caloric intake plays an important role in the long-term process that leads to communicable diseases. The primary objective of this study was to analyse whether children who ate dinner early were at lower risks of acute respiratory infections than children who ate dinner late during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2020 on children attending Majorcan emergency services. Our survey on dinner time habits was carried out by using self-administered questionnaires. Results: A total of 669 children were included in this study. The median dinner time was 8:30 pm. Late dinner eaters accounted for a higher proportion of acute otitis media (7% vs. 3%; p = 0.028) than early dinner eaters. Other infectious diseases were not associated with dinner time habits. Conclusions: We make a preliminary estimate of the link between late dinner habits and acute otitis media in children. However, no conclusions about causality can be established due to the observational design of the study, and further research is needed in order to confirm the different issues raised by our initial exploration of an emerging research area.

Keywords: otitis media; late dinner; common cold; otitis media; Mediterranean diet; oxidative stress; chronotype; circadian clock; inflammatory disease (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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