Adverse Childhood Experiences and Association With Pediatric Asthma Severity in the 2016–2017 National Survey of Children's Health

Objectives Prior studies have found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with asthma prevalence and onset, presumably related to stress and increased inflammation. We hypothesized that ACEs may be associated with asthma severity as well. We studied the 2016–2017 US National Survey of Children's Health dataset to explore the relationship between ACEs and pediatric asthma severity. Methods We analyzed children ages 0 to 17 years old who had current caregiver-reported asthma diagnosed by a healthcare provider. We reported descriptive characteristics using chi-square analysis of variance (ANOVA) and used multivariable regression analysis to assess the relationship of cumulative and individual ACEs with asthma severity. Survey sampling weights and SAS survey procedures were implemented to produce nationally representative results. Results Our analysis included 3691 children, representing a population of 5,465,926. Unadjusted analysis demonstrated that ACEs – particularly household economic hardship, parent/guardian served time in jail, witnessed household violence, or victim/witness of neighborhood violence – were each associated with higher odds of moderate/severe caregiver-reported asthma. After controlling for confounders possibly associated with both exposure (ACEs) and outcome (asthma severity), children who witnessed parent/adult violence had higher adjusted odds of caregiver-reported moderate/severe asthma. (1.67, confidence interval 1.05–2.64, P = .03) Conclusions Intrafamilial witnessed household violence is significantly associated with caregiver-reported moderate/severe asthma.