Is Childhood Asthma Associated With Educational Level and Longest-Held Occupation?

Children with asthma can experience chronic morbidity that may interfere with education and career progression. The authors investigated retrospectively whether a history of childhood asthma is associated with educational level and longest-held occupation, by gender. Cross-sectional analysis included a nationally representative sample of 10,452 adults aged >= 20 years who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001-2004). Logistic regression was used to assess associations between a childhood-asthma history and educational level, employment, and longest-held occupation. An estimated 6.9% of men and 5.8% of women had a childhood-asthma history. Persons with a childhood-asthma history tended to have a higher educational level than those with no asthma history. Among those who ever worked, and after adjustment for age and race/ethnicity, men with a childhood-asthma history were more likely to work in health-diagnosing occupations, other professional occupations, and as cooks; women with a childhood-asthma history were more likely to work in management-related, entertainment-related, and health service occupations. Compared with those with no asthma history, persons with a childhood-asthma history tended to achieve a higher educational level and, if they worked, were more likely to work in particular occupations.