Original Articles: Asthma Lower Airway DiseasesThe impact of inadequately controlled asthma in urban children on quality of life and productivity
Section snippets
INTRODUCTION
Among school-aged children in the United States, the prevalence of asthma is estimated to be approximately 10%, and the annual cost is $3.2 billion.1 Children miss 14 million school days annually due to asthma according to the National Center for Health Statistics.2 Children with asthma miss an average of 1.5 school days annually.3 Particular asthma symptoms have been linked to school absences. Children who experience nocturnal asthma awakenings 1 to 3 days per week were 3.6 times more likely
Study Design
A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted between September 1, 2005, and December 31, 2005, in a clinical research center associated with The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD). Children were identified from an existing list of pediatric asthmatic patients who had participated in previous studies. The study received institutional review board approval from The Johns Hopkins University before initiation. Participant consent was obtained in writing.
Adolescent asthmatic patients (aged
RESULTS
Study results were based on 239 children with asthma, including 131 young children 4 to 11 years of age and 108 adolescents 12 to 18 years of age. Demographic characteristics of the patients and their parents or caregivers are given in Table 1, and clinical characteristics of the patients are given in Table 2. The mean ± SD patient age was 10.1 ± 3.6 years, and 49% were girls. Approximately 70% of the patients were African American, and 98% had health insurance, including private and public
DISCUSSION
This study demonstrates substantial effects on quality of life, school and work attendance, resource use, and costs among children with inadequately controlled asthma and their caregivers. Children with inadequately controlled asthma demonstrated greater impairment in quality of life, decreased school attendance, loss of work by the caregiver, reports of diminished productivity while at school, and increased health care resource use and costs to the family. Taken together, these results
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This study was supported by GlaxoSmithKline.