Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and Hasbro Children's Hospital researchers have received more than $2.5 million in direct costs from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to study the impact of asthma on the sleep quality and academic performance of young children.
The five-year grant will allow pediatric researchers, led by Daphne Koinis-Mitchell, PhD, to evaluate the connection between asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms (such as sneezing, congestion or a runny nose), sleep quality, and school functioning in urban, elementary school children between the ages of 7 and 9. Working in collaboration with school districts in the greater Providence area, the investigators will also look at how family and cultural risks, such as family management of asthma and allergic rhinitis and asthma-related fear, may contribute to these associations.
"We know that asthma can affect how children perform in school. However, studies have not specifically shown how asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms influence school functioning," said Koinis-Mitchell, a child psychologist with the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center. "We propose that asthma-related sleep interruptions and/or frequent school absences due to asthma symptoms may make a difference in how well these children do in school."