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Low-income children more likely to be sick, less likely to miss school
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Children from low-income households are more likely to have respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses but are less likely to miss school compared with children from families with higher incomes, according to a study conducted by the CDC.
David Berendes, PhD, a senior service fellow and epidemiologist in the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, and colleagues examined survey data collected between 2010 and 2016 regarding family income and school absenteeism in children aged 5 to 17 years.
Of the 645,209 respondents who provided income information, 61,482 (9.6%) had additional data on their child’s health and absenteeism. Approximately one-third (31%) of households earned less than $35,000 per year, and 19% were below the federal poverty level. Most children (69%) missed 1 or more days of school, and about 15% missed 6 or more days (average = 3.3 days per child).
Respiratory illnesses were more common among children than gastrointestinal illness 2 weeks before responding to the survey (13% vs. 5%).
Children in households earning less than $35,000 annually were less likely to miss school compared with children in all other income levels (67%-73% vs. 65%) and were more likely to have both gastrointestinal (6% vs. 4%-5%) and respiratory illness (14% vs. 12%-13%). Berendes and colleagues noted that children in these households were 4% to 12% less likely to miss school (95% CI, 1%-16%) but 12% to 28% more likely to have gastrointestinal illness and 6% to 11% more likely to have respiratory illness.
The researchers noted that similar trends were observed in children who lived below the federal poverty level.
Although required absenteeism could be an effective way to protect public health in schools, Berendes and colleagues wrote that many low-income parents might not have paid sick leave from work to care for their children, which would affect both the child’s ability to stay home and health-seeking behaviors. Instead, ongoing health promotion strategies, including increased awareness of hand-washing with soap to prevent infection, could reduce transmission. – by Katherine Bortz
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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