PREVALENCE OF DISEASES OF THE ENT ORGANS AMONG SCHOOLCHILDREN OF THE LVIV REGION (ACCORDING TO SURVEY DATA DURING PREVENTIVE EXAMINATIONS)

¹Moskalyk OYe, ²Chukhrai NL, ¹Barylyak AYu, ¹Semenyuk OO, ¹Kitsera OO, ¹Hayevskyy VYu, ¹Kruk MM, ¹Tynitovska OI, ¹Chorniy OV

¹Danylo Halytskyi Lviv National Medical University, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Lviv, Ukraine

²Danylo Halytskyi Lviv National Medical University, Department of Orthodontics, Lviv, Ukraine

Abstract

Topicality: Over the past decade, the state of health and physical development of the children’s population of Ukraine has been deteriorating. According to research, among the factors that cause a decrease in the level of children’s health, the following are distinguished: study load and conditions of study, life, food, leisure time, environmental problems, the presence of harmful habits (smoking, drinking alcohol), nervous tension caused by frequent anxiety and war in Ukraine, it is also often unfavorable heredity, biological anamnesis, growth of morpho-functional deviations, etc. When nasal breathing is impaired, air is inhaled through the mouth. Prolonged mouth breathing can lead to an imbalance in the facial musculature and craniofacial structure, which in turn contributes to the imbalance of stomatogenic functions. Therefore, dentists may be the first healthcare workers who come into contact with a child with mouth breathing. In order to ensure the conditions for the proper development and formation of children, especially taking into account the anatomical and physiological features of the formation of the immune system in different age periods, it is necessary to constantly monitor their health indicators, plan, organize and control the implementation of measures to preserve the health of the younger generation .

Aim: To assess the prevalence of diseases of the ENT organs in schoolchildren of the Lviv region based on the data of parents’ questionnaires during preventive examinations of schoolchildren of the 1st, 6th and 9th grades of selected schools of the region.

Materials and methods: The research was carried out as part of a joint project of the Department of Education and Science of the Lviv Regional Military Administration (LRMA), the Department of Health Protection of Lviv, Lviv National Medical University (LNMU) named after Danylo Halytskyi and the Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. 10 pilot schools were selected for participation. Employees of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Danylo Halytsky LNMU, in order to pre-evaluate the state of otolaryngological health of their children by parents, developed a questionnaire that was filled out by the parents of the children in the studied groups. The questionnaire consisted of 59 questions, of which 15 were closed and 44 were semi-closed by type of answers. Parents of children aged 6-15 took part in the survey.

Results and discussion: The total number of schoolchildren in 1st, 6th, 9th grades (64) was 1589 children. Of these, parents of 941 children (59.2%) took part in the first stage of the study (filling out questionnaires) in the period from January to April 2024. Among them: 215 (22.8%) students of the 9th grade, 360 (38.3%) of the 6th grade, and 366 (38.9%) of the 1st grade. The most common complaint of parents was a complaint about impaired nasal breathing, namely, 271 (28.8%) respondents answered affirmatively to this question. Among them, 257 (98.5%) people complained about a periodic violation, and 14 (1.5%) people complained about a permanent violation. Quite often, parents were also bothered by their child’s snoring at night, which was indicated by 232 (24.7%) of the respondents. Periodic sneezing in a child was noted by 232 (24.7%) respondents, seasonal – 73 (7.8%), permanent – 3 (0.3%). 27 (2.9%) children had such problems for more than 1 year, 9 (1%) for more than 3 months. When assessing the relationship between factorial and outcome features through the analysis of arbitrary correlation tables using the χ2 criterion, a statistically significant relationship was established between the decrease in the age of children and the increase in morbidity (the number of acute respiratory infections, nasal breathing disorders, diseases of the upper respiratory organs, diseases of the tonsils, frequency otitis media).

Conclusions: During the survey of parents of 1st, 6th, and 9th grade students, 20.7% of respondents expressed some or other problems with the ENT organs, and 27% pointed to the disease right at the time of the survey. Most often, parents complained about: problems with nasal breathing (28.8%), children snoring at night (24.7%), periodic (24.7%) or seasonal (7.8%) sneezing, complaints from the throat (25.4 %). A statistically significant relationship was established between the decrease in the age of children and the increase in morbidity (the number of acute respiratory infections, nasal breathing disorders, diseases of the upper respiratory organs, diseases of the tonsils, frequency of otitis media). Taking into account the largest and most severe damage to the ENT organs in first-graders against the background of the anatomical and physiological features, the formation of the immune system at this age, it is necessary to pay attention to improving the quality and level of medical care with rehabilitation, remediation of foci of infection (including ENT organs and dentition) when preparing children to school.

Key words: children, schoolchildren, preventive examination, diseases of the ENT organs, nasal breathing, snoring..