Pediatric Asthma Cases Research Articles

Why are Children with Married Parents Healthier? The Case of Pediatric Asthma

Among a recent birth cohort in U.S. cities, young children were far more likely to be diagnosed with asthma and to experience an asthma-related emergency if their parents were unmarried. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, I find that the child health benefits of marriage seem to stem from the benefits of parental coresidence and the demographic and socioeconomic correlates of marriage. Children whose parents live apart appear to be at heightened risk of asthma even after taking into account demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The child health benefits of marriage are only weakly related to mothers’ health behaviors and are not related to father involvement. An analysis of relationship transitions suggests that marital disruption may be more harmful for children than the disruption of cohabiting unions. The results provide some cautions and considerations for the U.S. government’s Healthy Marriage Initiative.

Does treating maternal depression improve child health management? The case of pediatric asthma

Past studies have demonstrated an association between maternal depression and poor management of pediatric asthma. Using an instrumental variables strategy to address the endogeneity of depression treatment, I build on this literature to answer the question of whether treating maternal depression leads to an improvement in pediatric asthma management. I show that treatment of mother's depression improves management of child's asthma, resulting in a reduction in asthma costs in the 6-month period following diagnosis of $798 per asthmatic child whose mother is treated for depression.

Does Treating Maternal Depression Improve Child Health Management? The Case of Pediatric Asthma

Does Treating Maternal Depression Improve Child Health Management? The Case of Pediatric Asthma

Looking Beyond Urban/Rural Differences: Emergency Department Utilization by Asthmatic Children

Asthma causes pediatric morbidity throughout the US with substantial regional variability. Emergency department (ED) utilization data were studied to determine if geographic variability of pediatric asthma cases exists within a state. Records for non-neonatal Maryland children less than 18 years of age seen and discharged from Maryland EDs from April 1997 through March 2001 were analyzed. While Baltimore City had the highest rates of asthma visits, adjusted odds ratios identified the wealthiest suburban county to have a higher risk of an asthma ED visit. Children from rural counties, for the most part, had fewer ED asthma visits than children from urban and suburban counties.

Do specialists order too many tests? The case of allergists and pediatric asthma.

Is the practice style of specialists overly reliant on diagnostic tests? Health maintenance organization managers and other clinicians have been critical of the high cost practice styles of specialists, but if the specialists' practice style ultimately results in similar or lower total costs because of better outcomes in the treatment of exceptional cases, then such practice styles are cost-effective and should be encouraged. Indeed, if this is the case, not employing a test-intensive practice style could be considered negligent under a legal criterion. We attempted to determine whether the care of pediatric asthmatic patients by allergists is characterized by more testing, but by better, less costly outcomes than care by non-allergists. We used administrative data on pediatric asthmatic cases from a large health care plan from 1992 to determine whether patients treated by allergists received more tests, cost more, and had fewer asthmatic management breakdowns than patients treated by non-allergists. We used regression analysis to hold constant aspects of the patient's case mix. Although allergists ordered significantly more tests than non-allergists, their overall treatment costs were similar. Patients treated by allergists had fewer management breakdowns. These results suggest that the allergists' test-intensive practice style is cost-effective.