Background: Asthma is a complex chronic disorder of the airway, which, if remains untreated, could lead to a poor quality of life. Asthma causes substantial sicknesses that result in school absenteeism among school children. This study aimed to explore the relationship between asthma control and school accomplishment to obtain a better understanding of the problem for health professionals and the community in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out among asthmatic and non-asthmatic students (both male and female) aged between 14 and 18 years, who studied in a public high school in Riyadh. An online survey was conducted and data analysis was carried out by using SPSS.
Results: Poor asthma control resulted in reduced academic performance and a high rate of school absenteeism among children (aged between 14 and 18 years). The reduced performance was in terms of poor cognition, understanding, and learning ability in subjects such as Arabic, Math, and English. Also, poorly controlled asthma was associated with patient-reported outcomes/comorbidities, such as nervousness, depression, exhaustion, sleep disturbances, daytime sleepiness, and lack of concentration.
Conclusion: The study concluded that there are substantial impacts on the education of a student suffering from allergic rhinitis and asthma. The authors recommend that schools should conduct educational sessions for asthma control that could help children with their health and follow protective methods and improve their quality of life. Such informative sessions will assist the children to keep an eye on the evidence-based guidelines and precautionary measures against allergy.
Key words: High schools, asthma
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