Air quality and respiratory illness in youth living in Idaho's Treasure Valley

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between poor air quality and respiratory illness in youth living in the Treasure Valley region of Idaho. Absenteeism among students and several health surveys were examined to correlate the percent of daily absenteeism with the daily air quality index. This area is susceptible to poor air quality during certain times of the year due to several geographical and environmental attributes.

The study group included students in grades seven through twelve (n=388). Surveys were administered three times between September and December of 2007. Survey questions addressed health status, potential diagnosis of respiratory illness (such as asthma), incidence of illness, and average hours spent outdoors. Daily absenteeism data were collected from the school. This information was compared with the region's daily air quality indices obtained from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

56% of the students self-reported having allergies and 16% reported that they been told that they had asthma. The data identified increased levels of diagnosed asthma in the school studied (16%) when compared to national statistics for this age group (13%). The data also showed that the region experienced relatively good air quality during the study period, with 56% of the days labeled “green” and 44% labeled “yellow or orange.” A significant correlation between absenteeism and air quality was not found during the study period. A follow-up study with a longer time frame and improved tracking of reasons for being absent from school is recommended.