A Comparison of Absentee Rates of Elementary Schoolchildren with Asthma and Nonasthmatic Schoolmates

Abstract

Daily school attendance was suggested as a health status measure for children. The present study compared school absence in children known to have asthma (N = 95) with a random sample of nonasthmatic elementary schoolchildren (N = 711). The differences in average percentage of days absent over 1 yr were analyzed by comparing both groups'' conditioning on ethnicity, sex, socieconomic status and grade. Children with asthma had a significantly higher absentee rate (absent 8.4% of days) than do nonasthmatic children (absent 5.9% of days) (P < 0.001). This significant difference held true regardless of ethnicity or sex and for most socieconomic groups. A comparison by grade level showed a similar trend for children with asthma and nonasthmatic children: absentee rates decreased as children get older; except for 1 grade level, children with asthma had a greater percentage of school days absent. Mean absentee rates for children with asthma were different when compared according to their mother''s perception of severity of asthma mild (6.9%), moderate (7.9%) and severe (13.9%).