School Functioning of US Children With Asthma
1 From the National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD
2 From the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD.
Data from the 1988 US National Health Interview Survey on Child Health, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey, were used to determine national estimates of school outcomes (grade failure, learning disabilities, and suspension/expulsion) and mean number of absences for children with asthma (CWA) compared to well children without current health conditions. Families indicated that 536 (4.9%) of the 10 362 survey children in grades 1 through 12 had had asthma in the previous 12 months. Families reported 18% of CWA vs 15% of well children had grade failure, 9% of CWA vs 5% of well children had learning disabilities, and 5% of CWA vs 6% of well children had been expelled or suspended. Children with asthma averaged 7.6 school days absent compared with 2.5 days for the well group. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare the odds of grade failure, learning disabilities, and suspension/expulsion among CWA and well children, overall and stratified by income. Similar methods were used to assess the role of health status among asthmatic children. After adjustment for demographic factors, CWA had similar risks of grade failure and suspension/expulsion, but 1.7 times the risk of learning disability compared with well children. Also, among families with incomes below $20 000, CWA had twice the odds of grade failure compared with well children. For asthmatic children, reported health status was an important predictor of learning disability. Ten percent of CWA were reported to be in fair-poor health. After adjustment for demographic factors, those in fair-poor health were twice as likely to have a reported learning disability compared with those in good-excellent health. These national data suggest a modestly increased risk of academic problems among children with asthma compared with well children.
Key Words: asthma • school functioning • absences
Submitted on May 28, 1991
Accepted on May 14, 1992
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  L. B. Gerald, M. M. Sockrider, R. Grad, B. G. Bender, L. P. Boss, S. P. Galant, J. Gerritsen, C. L. M. Joseph, R. M. Kaplan, J. A. Madden, et al. An Official ATS Workshop Report: Issues in Screening for Asthma in Children Proceedings of the ATS, May 1, 2007; 4(2): 133 - 141. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. A. Stingone and L. Claudio Asthma and Enrollment in Special Education Among Urban Schoolchildren Am J Public Health, September 1, 2006; 96(9): 1593 - 1598. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. J. Griffin and E. Chen Perceived Control and Immune and Pulmonary Outcomes in Children With Asthma Psychosom Med, May 1, 2006; 68(3): 493 - 499. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Hammerness, M. C. Monuteaux, S. V. Faraone, L. Gallo, H. Murphy, and J. Biederman Reexamining the Familial Association Between Asthma and ADHD in Girls J Atten Disord, February 1, 2005; 8(3): 136 - 143. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. J. Katon, L. Richardson, P. Lozano, and E. McCauley The Relationship of Asthma and Anxiety Disorders Psychosom Med, May 1, 2004; 66(3): 349 - 355. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Guidelines for Assessing and Managing Asthma Risk at Work, School, and Recreation Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., April 1, 2004; 169(7): 873 - 881. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. A. Peterson, S. Wall, H. A. Raikes, E. E. Kisker, M. E. Swanson, J. Jerald, J. B. Atwater, and Wei Qiao Early Head Start: Identifying and Serving Children with Disabilities Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, January 1, 2004; 24(2): 76 - 88. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Yeatts, K. Johnston Davis, D. Peden, and C. Shy Health consequences associated with frequent wheezing in adolescents without asthma diagnosis Eur. Respir. J., November 1, 2003; 22(5): 781 - 786. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Yeatts, C. Shy, M. Sotir, S. Music, and C. Herget Health Consequences for Children With Undiagnosed Asthma-like Symptoms Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, June 1, 2003; 157(6): 540 - 544. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Krishna, B. D. Francisco, E. A. Balas, P. Konig, G. R. Graff, and R. W. Madsen Internet-Enabled Interactive Multimedia Asthma Education Program: A Randomized Trial Pediatrics, March 1, 2003; 111(3): 503 - 510. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Lozano, J. A. Finkelstein, J. Hecht, R. Shulruff, and K. B. Weiss Asthma Medication Use and Disease Burden in Children in a Primary Care Population Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, January 1, 2003; 157(1): 81 - 88. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. MORELLO-FROSCH, M. PASTOR Jr., and J. SADD Integrating Environmental Justice and the Precautionary Principle in Research and Policy Making: the Case of Ambient Air Toxics Exposures and Health Risks among Schoolchildren in Los Angeles The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, November 1, 2002; 584(1): 47 - 68. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. J. Sharek, M. L. Mayer, L. Loewy, T. N. Robinson, R. S. Shames, D. T. Umetsu, and D. A. Bergman Agreement Among Measures of Asthma Status: A Prospective Study of Low-Income Children With Moderate to Severe Asthma Pediatrics, October 1, 2002; 110(4): 797 - 804. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. W. Stevens and M. H. Gorelick Short-Term Outcomes After Acute Treatment of Pediatric Asthma Pediatrics, June 1, 2001; 107(6): 1357 - 1362. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. B. Diette, L. Markson, E. A. Skinner, T. T. H. Nguyen, P. Algatt-Bergstrom, and A. W. Wu Nocturnal Asthma in Children Affects School Attendance, School Performance, and Parents' Work Attendance Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, September 1, 2000; 154(9): 923 - 928. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. J. Sharek and D. A. Bergman The Effect of Inhaled Steroids on the Linear Growth of Children With Asthma: A Meta-analysis Pediatrics, July 1, 2000; 106(1): 8e - 8. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Bassili, A. Zaki, S. R. Zaher, I. H. El-Sawy, M. H. Ahmed, M. Omar, T. Omar, R. N. Bedwani, C. Davies, G. Tognoni, et al. Quality of Care of Children With Chronic Diseases in Alexandria, Egypt: The Models of Asthma, Type I Diabetes, Epilepsy, and Rheumatic Heart Disease Pediatrics, July 1, 2000; 106(1): 12e - 12. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Conway, T.-C. Hu, S. Bennett, and M. Niedos A Pilot Study Describing Local Residents' Perceptions of Asthma and Knowledge of Asthma Care in Selected Chicago Communities Chest, October 1, 1999; 116(suppl_2): 229S - 234S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. R. Wilson, P. Scamagas, J. Grado, L. Norgaard, N. J. Starr, S. Eaton, and K. Pomaville The Fresno Asthma Project: A Model Intervention to Control Asthma in Multiethnic, Low-Income, Inner-City Communities Health Educ Behav, February 1, 1998; 25(1): 79 - 98. [Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Lozano, P. Fishman, M. VonKorff, and J. Hecht Health Care Utilization and Cost Among Children With Asthma Who Were Enrolled in a Health Maintenance Organization Pediatrics, June 1, 1997; 99(6): 757 - 764. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. B. Forrest, B. Starfield, A. W. Riley, and M. Kang The Impact of Asthma on the Health Status of Adolescents Pediatrics, February 1, 1997; 99(2): e1 - e1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J.M. Daly, J. Biederman, J.Q. Bostic, A.M. Maraganore, E. Lelon, M. Jellinek, and A. Lapey The relationship between childhood asthma and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A review of the literature J Atten Disord, April 1, 1996; 1(1): 31 - 40. [Abstract]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. Richards Preventing Behavior Problems in Asthma and Allergies Clinical Pediatrics, October 1, 1994; 33(10): 617 - 624. [PDF]
|
|
