Patterns of ear disease in the southwestern American Indian.

Native Americans are predisposed to one of the highest incidences of otitis media in mankind. The origin of otitis media in Indians remains multifaceted. However, an unusually high prevalence of congenital anomalies of the ear and oral cavity, ie, oral clefts, facial paralysis in diabetics, and the absence of otosclerosis, suggest racial inheritance as a predominant factor for their pattern or ear disease. An analysis of outpatient and operative records at the Phoenix (Ariz) Indian Medical Center substantiates this hypothesis and shows contrasts in ear disease between American Indians and white persons.