Children with asthma are more likely to struggle academically when their symptoms are not adequately controlled, according to research in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Among students with poorly controlled asthma, minority students are more likely to fall behind in school than white students.

Researchers investigated the co-occurrence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, quality of sleep, and academic functioning in children with asthma and healthy controls across 1 academic year. Participants included 182 Latino students, 132 African American students, and 81 non-Latino white students aged 7 to 9 years from large urban school districts in a Northeast US city.

Associations were found between asthma indicators – lung function, asthma control, and asthma symptoms – and diminished academic performance. These associations were stronger in minority students, Latino children in particular.