Health status of children and their mothers: Results from the National Health Interview Survey

Objectives: 1) describe the association between the health status (HS) of children and their mothers, 2) examine factors accounting for this association.

Methods: Data for 31,352 children 5-17 years and their mothers from the 2001-2006 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. Mothers' reports of child age, sex, race/ethnicity, mother's education, specific child health conditions, and child and maternal HS were analyzed. Suboptimal HS was defined as poor/fair/good health and optimal HS as very good/excellent health. Bivariate and logistic regression SUDAAN procedures were used to analyze child HS.

Findings: Mothers' reports of their children's and their own HS were strongly associated: suboptimal HS was reported for 46% of children whose mothers had suboptimal HS compared to 4% of children whose mothers had optimal HS. Reports of specific child health conditions varied by child and maternal HS. Among mothers reporting optimal HS for themselves and suboptimal HS for their child, 85% reported child health conditions. Among mothers reporting suboptimal HS for both themselves and their children, 58% reported child health conditions. Multivariate analyses stratified by the presence/absence of child health conditions indicated that the association between child and maternal HS, after adjustments for sociodemographic variables, was stronger among children without health conditions than children with health conditions. Analyses of the effect of specific maternal health conditions on the reporting of child HS are planned.