CHILDHOOD ASTHMA AND ADULT HEIGHT - DATA FROM NHANES-II

Objective: The impact of asthma during childhood ore adult height was examined using data from the Second National Health and Nutrition Exam ination Survey, 1976-1980. Results: Childhood asthma (before age 15 ye ars) had little or no overall effect on adult height in the black or w hite populations. However, these data suggest a small effect on adult height among blacks of lower socioeconomic status that may be explaine d, in part, by childhood asthma. Among black females with less than a high school education, the mean adult height of those with childhood a sthma was 1.85 in. lower (p<0.05) than of those without asthma. Among black males without a high school education, those with childhood asth ma averaged 1.02 in. shorter. The height of blacks with a high school education or greater did not differ by asthma diagnosis to the same ex tent: females with childhood asthma averaged 0.87 in. shorter and male s with childhood asthma averaged 0.15 in. taller than their nonasthmat ic counterparts. Among whites, a diagnosis of childhood asthma had no apparent impact on adult height. Although these data suggest that whit es with asthma were slightly taller (0.07 to 0.57 in.) than those with out asthma, the differences were not statistically significant. Conclu sion: The overall effect of childhood asthma on adult height was minim al. However, these results indicate a potentially small adverse effect on height from childhood asthma among the disadvantaged minorities.