Chronic Physical Health Conditions among Children of Different Racial/Ethnic Backgrounds

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore racial/ethnic disparities in the prevalence rates of common childhood chronic, physical health conditions (CPHC) and to assess the effect of race/ethnicity and other factors on the risk of chronic disease in a national sample of U.S. children. METHODS. This study utilized the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health to estimate prevalence for asthma, hearing, vision, bone/joint/muscle problems and brain injury. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of child's race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children) and several family related variables on the risk of developing each of the health conditions. RESULTS. Hispanic and black children were more likely to live in households with high levels of poverty. More black and Hispanic children were covered by public health insurance while a 19% of Hispanic children were currently uninsured. The findings show that the prevalence for any CPHC was significantly higher (25.3%) among black children than white (19.8%) and Hispanic (18.6%). Furthermore, 19.5% of black children have had or currently have asthma compared with 12.2% of white and Hispanic children. Children, regardless of race/ethnicity, living in a single parent household were at an increased risk of having asthma, vision and joint/bone/muscle problems. Poor maternal health was also associated with a higher likelihood of CPHC across the three racial/ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS. Racial/ethnic disparities in children's health are extensive and pervasive. Interventions for reducing CPHC among children need to consider the family environment and parental health.