Prevalence of Learning Disability among United States Children with Asthma and Diabetes

Purpose

Learning disability is common among United States (US) children and affects about 1 in 10. The likelihood of learning disability is high among children with multiple special health care needs. To purpose of this project was to explore the association of learning disability with two most common childhood chronic diseases, asthma and diabetes.

Methods

Prevalence of learning disability among children under the age of 18 with asthma and diabetes were calculated using the data from 2003 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). The NSCH was designed to produce national and state-specific prevalence estimates for a variety of health indicators and measures of children's health. Data analyses were done by SAS callable SUDAAN in order to account for the complex survey design and to calculate accurate variance statistics.

Results

Prevalence of learning disability is higher in US children under the age 18 with asthma and diabetes compared to those without. Among children without asthma it was 9.0% (95% CI 8.7, 9.4) compared with 14.4% (95% CI 13.2, 15.4) among children with asthma (OR=1.7, 95% CI 1.5, 1.9). Similarly, prevalence of learning disability among children without diabetes was 9.7% (95% CI 9.4, 10.1), compared with 18.3% (95% CI 12.7, 25.6) among children with diabetes (OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.4, 3.2). The results were similar in the adjusted logistic regression models. The odds of learning disability among children with asthma were OR=1.5 (95% CI 1.3, 1.7) compared to those without and adjusted for age, gender, household education, poverty, smoking, and family structure. Among children with diabetes, the odds of learning disability were OR 1.7 (95% CI 1.1, 2.9), compared to those without and adjusted for age, gender, household education, poverty, smoking, and family structure.

Conclusion

US children under the age 18 with asthma and diabetes are significantly more likely to have learning disability than children without asthma and diabetes, indicating that learning disability is a co-morbidity among US children under the age 18 with asthma and diabetes.

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