. 2019 Nov 7;23(11):823–827. doi: 10.1089/gtmb.2019.0135

Table 2.

Variables Studied in 214 Finnish Probands with Otitis Media^a

Variable	n (%)
Female sex	88 (41)
ABO genotypes^b
Carriers of four-variant haplotype	57 (27)
Wild type for c.260insG variant	50 (23)
Homozygous for c.260insG variant	48 (22)
All other	81 (38)
Blood type^c
A	107 (50)
O^d	50 (23)
B	35 (16)
AB	22 (10)
Otitis media type^e
RAOM^f	191 (89)
COME^g	148 (69)
Both RAOM and COME^h	125 (58)

^{^a}

Average age was 12.9 ± 3.3 years.

^{^b}

A total of 22 (10%) probands are both carriers of the 4-variant haplotype and homozygous for c.260insG.

^{^c}

Known proportions for each blood type in the general Finnish population using a sample of n = 5536 (ref. 4): A (44%); O (31%); B (17%); AB (8%).

^{^d}

The 95% CI for type O does not overlap in the two groups using the binomial test, with lower frequency in OM probands—OM 95% CI: 17.9–29.6; general population 95% CI: 29.8–32.2.

^{^e}

Probands were ascertained upon referral for ventilation tube insertion for OM. COME was diagnosed for middle ear effusion >2 months, whereas RAOM was diagnosed for those with >3 AOM episodes in 6 months or >4 AOM episodes in 12 months.

^{^f}

For model RAOM∼Age+Sex+TypeO, β_TypeO = −0.098 ± 0.046, p = 0.03.

^{^g}

For model COME∼Age+Sex+TypeA, β_TypeA = 0.134 ± 0.061, p = 0.03.

^{^h}

For model BothRAOM/COME∼Age+Sex+TypeA, β_TypeA = 0.131 ± 0.066, p = 0.0495 and β_Sex = −0.160 ± 0.067, p = 0.02. This suggests that increased susceptibility to having both RAOM and COME due to blood type A is more predominant in males.

AOM, acute otitis media; CI, confidence interval; COME, chronic otitis media with effusion; RAOM, recurrent acute otitis media.