Every year, on beautiful spring days, you can see a yellow-green dust on your car windshield in the morning. That’s pollen and it makes spring the peak season for those with allergies and asthma to have breathing problems.
Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children today with more than 6 million children under 18 having asthma. It is associated with more than 10 million missed school days annually, making it an important cause of chronic absenteeism. Poor air quality can make asthma symptoms worse and trigger attacks and 80% of children have asthma triggered by allergies.
The purpose of this research was to look at US Air Quality Index (AQI) data and see if a relationship can be seen between daily air quality values and chronic absenteeism in public schools. The good news is that more than three quarters of US air has AQI values of 49 or less, meaning the air quality is considered good and whatever air pollution is out there poses little or no risk to people. The bad news is that a pattern exists between hazardous AQI and chronic absenteeism on K-12 schools. Eight states recorded hazardous AQI on at least one day during the two years examined, and in five states (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Montana, and Nevada), the county with the worst chronic absenteeism also recorded hazardous air. In Washington, New Mexico and Idaho, the county with the worst chronic absenteeism did not also have hazardous air.
A problem common to any large data set is how to deal with outlier values. More than 75% of AQI values are below 50 which is good, but very rarely, air quality is hazardous and exceeds 3,000. Including the rare 3,000 reading would mean that most readings below 50 would look like a flat line and making the visualization of the data not effective. To eliminate the outlier values would negate the purpose of this research to see patterns of poor air quality and chronic absenteeism. Any reading over 300 is considered hazardous. A decision was made to make all values higher than 349 (which is hazardous) equal to 350. This is still considered hazardous air, however the plot does not show how hazardous individual readings might be.
To examine the research, use the drop down menu to select a state. The plots show the 2015 and 2016 Daily AQI by county in each state. AQI measures five different pollutants, ozone, carbon monoxide, PM2.5, sulfer dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. AQI measures range from Good (green), Moderate (yellow), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (orange), Unhealthy (red), Very Unhealthy (purple), and Hazardous (maroon). The red vertical lines show September 1 to May 31, approximately the 2015-16 school year. Because AQI are generally highest during warmer months, values to the left of the first line are in August, generally one of the hottest months in the US. It is also common time for forest fires which generate pollutants and poor air quality. It is a noticeable pattern in Oregon. The counties are ranked by chronic absenteeism rate, weighted to reflect total enrollment. Lower rates mean fewer students missing school (good), and more students regularly attending school (better). Not all counties have AQI monitoring sites, and only counties with AQI monitoring sites are included in the graph.
It is just the first step of looking at this data in combination with chronic absenteeism numbers. More research will need to be done to answer questions in detail. Of course, health in schools is more than good outdoor air quality. Healthy Schools Campaign, a national organization working on promoting student health and school wellness, agrees that healthy school environments are a key part of the solution to this crisis. Regular access to school health services (including physical, mental, dental, vision and behavioral services), healthy school food, physical activity and good indoor air in a clean and well-maintained building can have a tremendous impact on students’ achievement at school and on their lifelong wellness.
Sources:
https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Daily
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-2015-16.html
Tags: Allergy, Asthma, AQI, chronic absenteeism, pollen, air quality
Learning about this problem is distressing putting it lightly. When I was a kid, I had terrible allergies and May was the worst month for me. I, fortunately, do not have asthma but I had classmates who did and missed plenty of school as well during allergy season. By the way, I lived in California when I was a child. The air has been hazardous there for a long time, aggravating allergies and asthma in kids and in adults.
Not all areas in California have hazardous air, but some do and some of those counties also have chronic absenteeism which implies that the relationship between poor air quality does affect students and their learning. We need to do more monitoring of both air and student attendance.
I am not at all surprised that the air in Washington is not hazardous. When I moved there from Montana, I was able to breathe better. My allergies were more manageable too. Then why is the school absenteeism so bad there?
There are many reasons why students miss school. Asthma and allergies are one reason that has been identified in previous studies.
If bad allergies and asthma are a result of school absenteeism in so many areas, then why isn’t the healthcare system any better than it is? Kids need to be healthy, and they need to go to school. There is no sign that this problem will be resolved either anytime soon.
I agree we need to improve our health care system. Asthma and allergies are best treated within the health care system.
Wow. This all makes so much sense. I grew up in Arizona and I had a horrible time with allergies and had asthma attacks. I missed plenty of school days and I am in my 20’s now. It’s unfortunate to see that this is even more of a problem than it seemed like it was before.
Glad that it makes sense. It may seem to be worse now, but air quality has gotten much better since measurements started.
That is utterly sad that millions of kids are suffering from allergies and asthma and are missing so much school as a result! I realize that the air quality in some states is worse than others. I think that every school regardless of location needs to have better air filters so that kids and the staff can stay healthy and productive. It really is a necessity.
You make an interesting point about air filters. There has been some research done showing that individual classrooms have different air quality (think mold, air circulation, etc.) and that also makes a more classroom ventilation improved attendance. http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2013/06/05/more-fresh-air-in-classrooms-means-fewer-absences/
I used to live in Nevada and now I am in Vancouver Canada. The difference between the air quality from here and there is like night and day. I can breathe easier here. The only way to combat this issue is to go green and take better care of the environment.
Glad to hear you can breathe easier.
I agree with Claire about how to solve the air quality issue. More eco-friendly products need to be used, and people need to be more serious about recycling. That will help keep the air cleaner so kids will be healthier and not miss so much school. On a side note, I looked at the NY stats and it is not as bad as I had figured. Strange.
Healthy Schools Campaign, a national organization working to promote student health and school wellness has a Green, Clean Schools program (https://healthyschoolscampaign.org/programs/green-clean-schools/) and is working with its partners to make sure that indoor air quality does not have harmful odors.
Asthma is terrible and it saddens me to learn that 80% of kids are having asthma attacks due to allergies alone. When kids are not able to go to school because they are not well, then they cannot be productive. There is no excuse that poor environmental factors are the reason that kids are too sick to work.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Poor air quality does so much damage, as it can be so suffocating. I appreciate you sharing this data but the issue is, will it be taken seriously?
I hope that by presenting research like this, it will be taken seriously and will influence policy.
It is astounding to read how much the bad environment is harming kids! Aside from asthma, you have to wonder if the environment is to blame for the increasing numbers of autism and ADHD in kids. I often wonder this, because the pollutants in the air are not good for anyone for so many reasons.
I agree, pollutants in the air can be harmful and at high levels can be hazardous. I have not seen research associating harmful air with ADHD and autism.
The air quality in Hawaii is horrible. So many people think it is paradise. But it is dirty and expensive, not to mention not safe! Look at the volcanic action there. I don’t have asthma but my allergies were the worst when I lived there. I could not stop my eyes from watering and itching. And that is interesting that there is a correlation between asthma, allergies and the air quality. I believe that there is so much truth to all of this.
Yes, most of the poor air quality in Hawaii is related to sulfur dioxide that is spit out by the Kilauea volcano. That is nasty stuff to be breathing in at hazardous levels.
What really needs to be done about this is that schools need to be better maintained than they are. You add the bad air quality to the mold and mildew from indoors, then you are going to have chronically sick kids. They need air filters too.
Thank you for your comments.
I’m shocked to read that the air quality in Montana is bad considering it is one of the least populated states. That is too bad because it is gorgeous out there. I really thought it was clean.
Thank you for your thoughts.
I am in Nevada and this time of year is an absolute nightmare for me. I have asthma and nothing seems to help my allergies. I feel for these poor kids who are suffering from this.
AQI is generally worse is warmer weather like now. I wish you the best with your allergies.
This is useful info that you had shared since there are so many places in the US and all over the world where the air quality is really bad. I am happy to hear that Healthy Schools Campaign is trying to do something about this huge problem. Kids need to be kept safe so they can learn effectively.
Thank you for your thoughts.