Prevalence of childhood asthma in US military and non-military families: Comparisons by rural–urban residence and geographic region

Abstract

Objective: We sought to determine variables associated with asthma among children from military and non-military families. Methods: We performed secondary data analysis on the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Parents with and without military experience (n = 61,079) were asked whether a child ever had asthma and currently has asthma. We used two multiple logistic regression models to determine the influence of rurality and geographic region on “ever” and “current” asthma in children of military and non-military families, while controlling for socio-demographic and behavioral variables. Results: Overall childhood asthma prevalence for children in military families was lower than non-military families (ever, 9.7% vs. 12.9%; currently, 6.2% vs. 8.2%) in 2016. However, multiple logistic regression showed variation in “ever” and “current” asthma among children of military and non-military families by rurality and race. Discussion: Developers of public health asthma interventions should consider targeting African-American children of military families living in urban areas. This population is approximately twice as likely to have asthma as Caucasian children of non-military families.