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. 2016 Jul;51(1):23-32.
doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.12.012. Epub 2016 Feb 9.

Asthma-Related School Absenteeism, Morbidity, and Modifiable Factors

Joy Hsu  1 , Xiaoting Qin  2 , Suzanne F Beavers  2 , Maria C Mirabelli  2
Affiliations

Asthma-Related School Absenteeism, Morbidity, and Modifiable Factors

Joy Hsu et al. Am J Prev Med. 2016 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Asthma is a leading cause of chronic disease-related school absenteeism. Few data exist on how information on absenteeism might be used to identify children for interventions to improve asthma control. This study investigated how asthma-related absenteeism was associated with asthma control, exacerbations, and associated modifiable risk factors using a sample of children from 35 states and the District of Columbia.

Methods: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Child Asthma Call-back Survey is a random-digit dial survey designed to assess the health and experiences of children aged 0-17 years with asthma. During 2014-2015, multivariate analyses were conducted using 2006-2010 data to compare children with and without asthma-related absenteeism with respect to clinical, environmental, and financial measures. These analyses controlled for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Results: Compared with children without asthma-related absenteeism, children who missed any school because of asthma were more likely to have not well controlled or very poorly controlled asthma (prevalence ratio=1.50; 95% CI=1.34, 1.69) and visit an emergency department or urgent care center for asthma (prevalence ratio=3.27; 95% CI=2.44, 4.38). Mold in the home and cost as a barrier to asthma-related health care were also significantly associated with asthma-related absenteeism.

Conclusions: Missing any school because of asthma is associated with suboptimal asthma control, urgent or emergent asthma-related healthcare utilization, mold in the home, and financial barriers to asthma-related health care. Further understanding of asthma-related absenteeism could establish how to most effectively use absenteeism information as a health status indicator.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: No conflicts of interest and no external funding were reported by the authors of this paper

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study Population of Children Aged 0–17 Years in School with Current Asthma: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Asthma Call-Back Survey, 2006–2010
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