Prevalence of Otolaryngology Diseases in Egypt: A Scoping Review Across Time and Urban–Rural Settings

AbstractBackground: Otolaryngology (ENT) conditions constitute a substantial but fragmented public health burden in Egypt. Prevalence estimates vary widely across conditions, age groups, and geographic settings, and no synthesis has examined how the epidemiological profile has shifted over time or how urban and rural distributions differ.Objective: To synthesize available Egyptian prevalence data for major ENT disease categories, organized along a temporal axis (study year) and a spatial axis (urban versus rural/remote settings), and to identify persistent gaps in the national evidence base.Methods: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and reported using the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Published Egyptian studies and national surveys were identified through structured database searches. Data was extracted for hearing impairment, otitis media, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, obstructive sleep apnea, tonsillopharyngitis, and head and neck cancer. Findings were tabulated by year of data collection and by reported urban/rural or governorate-level setting.Results: Hearing impairment emerged as the most extensively documented condition, with a national prevalence of 16.0% in 2007 and school-based estimates ranging from 13.7% to 19.3% in later years, with otitis media with effusion consistently the leading identifiable cause [1,2]. Secretory otitis media prevalence in schoolchildren was 10.4–10.8%, with rural and remote governorates showing higher burdens [2,3]. Allergic rhinitis estimates ranged from 3.6% in a multinational adult survey to 11.1% among Delta medical students, with a Cairo school-based study reporting rhinoconjunctivitis at 15.3% [6,7,9]. Obstructive sleep apnea showed a pooled Egyptian prevalence of 39%, substantially higher than Western comparators [11]. Head and neck cancer data showed an approximately equal urban–rural distribution but rising research output, suggesting increasing recognition [16,17]. Chronic suppurative otitis media remains a persistent burden with high rates of multidrug-resistant pathogens in tertiary settings [5].Conclusions: Egypt’s ENT epidemiological profile is dominated by middle ear disease and hearing impairment, with a substantial and possibly rising burden of allergic and sleep-related disorders. Rural and remote populations consistently show a higher prevalence of preventable ear disease and poorer access to diagnosis. Temporal trends are difficult to establish due to heterogeneous methodologies and the absence of a unified national ENT surveillance system.