The association of co-morbid asthma and overweight/obese status with healthcare utilization and caregiver perception of health in children 4–17 years, a NHANES study

Abstract

Objective

Asthma and obesity are two of the most common chronic childhood illnesses. The purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between co-morbid asthma and obesity in children aged 4–17 and whether it impacts the caregiver’s perception of health and/or healthcare utilization.

Methods

This was a secondary analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) datasets from 2007 to 2018. Cumulative logistic regression models were used to analyze the caregiver’s perception of health, received healthcare, and overnight hospital stay as dependent variables. Asthma and weight status were included as covariates, with adjustment for age, income, head of the household’s education, gender, race, and insurance.

Results

The sample included 15,386 children. When looking at weight status in addition to asthma, compared to caregivers of children with current asthma and normal weight, caregivers of children with current asthma and with obesity are more likely to perceive their children as having worse health (OR = 1.73, 95%CI = [1.30, 2.32], p = 0.0003), and are more likely to have more frequent healthcare utilization but the results did not reach a statistical significance.

Conclusions

Caregiver’s perception of overall health was worse in caregivers of those with co-morbid obesity/asthma than in caregivers of children with asthma alone. This indicates that caregivers of children with co-morbid asthma and obesity have insight into their children’s condition and may be primed for discussion and counseling in the healthcare setting.

Keywords:

• Asthma
• health care utilization
• increased weight status
• obese
• overweight
• caregiver’s perception of health

Declaration of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

Availability of data and materials

All data used in this article were retrieved from NHANES database. Requests for material should be made to the corresponding authors.

Additional information

Funding

Stony Brook Children’s Hospital Department of Pediatrics intramural grant award