Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115213

Jeanette A. Stingone, MPH, Leon Tulton, BS, and Luz Claudio, PhD. Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, 212 241-1426, jeanette.stingone@mssm.edu

Background: Asthma is a significant school health issue affecting urban youth. While previous research has shown that asthmatic children miss more school than non-asthmatics, the effect of asthma on academic performance remains to be determined. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if urban children with asthma are at an increased risk of requiring special education services, a surrogate marker for academic performance and learning difficulties. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 24 randomly selected public, elementary schools in New York City. The parent-report questionnaire contained standardized items on sociodemographics, special education enrollment, asthma diagnosis/symptoms, school absences, medications and healthcare utilization. Results: Overall, 4,899 questionnaires were returned (77%). The prevalence of current asthma was significantly greater among special education students when compared to students in general education (18.3% vs 11.9%, p<.01). After controlling for demographic factors, children with current asthma were 60% more likely to require special education services (OR=1.62, 1.22-2.16, 95% CI). Among asthmatics, household income, hospitalization in the previous 12 months, and duration of disease were all significantly associated with special education. Asthmatic children in special education were also more likely to use medications at school and averaged more school absences during a 2-week period, although these results did not reach significance. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that asthmatic children have an increased risk of learning difficulties. Further research is needed to identify children whose chronic disease may be affecting their ability to learn, and evaluate whether improving disease management and control can improve academic performance.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Describe and discuss the strengths and limitations of using a parent-report survey to gather student health data.
• 2. Recognize the social and disease-related factors that are associated with academic outcomes among asthmatic children.
• 3. Apply results to inform the development of tailored school-based asthma interventions.

Keywords: Asthma, School Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation