The association of childhood asthma with parental employment and welfare receipt.

OBJECTIVE: to assess the association of childhood asthma with parental employment and welfare receipt, which has not been studied.
METHOD: We analyzed cross-sectional data on 13 371 children younger than 18 from the 1997 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative stratified probability sample of the US noninstitutionalized population. Single-parent (n=3,907) and 2-parent families (n=9,464) were analyzed separately. Families with children younger than 6 and families with incomes below the federal poverty level (FPL) were also analyzed separately. The main outcome measures were full-time parental employment and welfare receipt.
RESULTS: Compared to single parents of nonasthmatic children younger than 6, single parents of young children with asthma were more likely to be employed less than full time (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-3.2). This relationship was also evident among single-parent families with incomes below FPL (adjusted OR 2.8, 95% CI, 1.2-6.5). Parental employment among 2-parent families with young children was similar regardless of child's asthma status. Two-parent families with young asthmatic children were more likely to have received welfare for at least 1 parent (adjusted OR 2.6, 95% CI, 1.5-4.6). Single-parent families of asthmatic children were also more likely to have received welfare (adjusted OR 1.4, 95% CI, 1.1-1.7).
CONCLUSION: Children's asthma is associated with reduced parental employment among single parents and increased welfare receipt among single- and 2-parent families. These associations with children's asthma may have implications for policy makers interested in increasing employment and decreasing welfare