[Deficits in school performance in children and adolescents with chronic asthma]

At the time of their admission to the Buchenhöhe Jugendorf asthma centre (an institution for medical, professional and social rehabilitation), an investigation was made into the cases of 186 children and youths (average age: 14.0), the majority of whom suffered from severe asthma. The investigation, focused on the patients' ailment symptomatology and its effect on school progress, showed that one third of the children had spent considerable time hospitalized in intensive care (an average of 4.4 x). Amongst other findings were: That one third on the children and youths had not taken part in sports, either at school or in their leisure time, that they had missed a lot of school (33 children had missed over 30%) and that the children and youths were an average of 1.29 years behind the normal school level. The investigation leads to the conclusion that the schooling situation of asthmatic children and youths should be taken into consideration within the chronic asthma treatment plan and that treatment periods that last too long bring about an irreversible school deficiency which could hinder the further development of the youth.