Journal article
At What Age Do Children Start Taking Daily Asthma Medicines on Their Own?
Pediatrics (Evanston), Vol.122(6), pp.E1186-E1192
12/01/2008
PMID: 19047221
Abstract
OBJECTIVE. Use of daily controller medications is a critical task in management of persistent asthma. Study aims were to examine (1) the association between child age and extent of daily controller-medication responsibility in a sample aged 4 to 19 years, (2) parent, child, and disease predictors of child daily controller-medication responsibility and overall daily controller-medication adherence, and (3) the association between child daily controller-medication responsibility and overall daily controller-medication adherence.
METHODS. We conducted a cross-sectional telephone survey of 351 parents of children who were prescribed daily controller medication. Children's mean age was 10.4 years; 61.5% were male, and 88.1% were white. Parents provided all data, including an estimate of the percentage of child and parent daily controller-medication responsibility. Daily controller-medication adherence was measured as parents' report of percentage of daily doses taken per doses prescribed in a typical week. We used multivariate linear regression to determine associations between parent race/ethnicity, education, income, number of dependents, child age, gender, years since diagnosis, parent perception of symptom severity and control, and dependent variables (child daily controller-medication responsibility and daily controller-medication adherence). We also examined associations between child daily controller-medication responsibility and daily controller-medication adherence.
RESULTS. Child daily controller-medication responsibility increased with age. By age 7, children had assumed, on average, almost 20% of daily controller-medication responsibility; by age 11, similar to 50%; by age 15, 75%; and by age 19, 100%. In multivariate models, child age and male gender remained significantly associated with child daily controller-medication responsibility, and child's age and parents' race/ethnicity remained significantly associated with daily controller-medication adherence.
CONCLUSIONS. Clinicians may need to screen for child daily controller-medication management and include even young children when educating families on the use of asthma medications and other key asthma-management tasks. Pediatrics 2008; 122: e1186-e1192
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Details
- Title
- At What Age Do Children Start Taking Daily Asthma Medicines on Their Own?
- Creators
- Joan K. Orrell-Valente - University of California, San FranciscoLeah G. Jarlsberg - University of California, San FranciscoLaura G. Hill - Washington State UniversityMichael D. Cabana - University of California, San Francisco
- Publication Details
- Pediatrics (Evanston), Vol.122(6), pp.E1186-E1192
- Academic Unit
- Human Development, Department of
- Publisher
- Amer Acad Pediatrics
- Number of pages
- 7
- Grant note
- HL70771 / National Institutes of Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA R01HL070771 / NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Heart Lung & Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Identifiers
- 99900871412901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article