RT Journal
A1 STRUNK RC
T1 THeophylline and school performance-reply
JF American Journal of Diseases of Children
JO American Journal of Diseases of Children
YR 1989
FD November 1
VO 143
IS 11
SP 1258
OP 1259
DO 10.1001/archpedi.1989.02150230016004
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1989.02150230016004
AB In Reply—The major finding of our study was that children with moderate to severe asthma had average to slightly above average scores for academic performance. Only a small percentage of children scored less than 1 SD below the mean for either reading or math. Having performance scores at the lower end of these relatively normal values did correlate with certain features of the asthma, as reiterated by DuHamel and Furukawa in their letter. A number of other variables defining asthma and its treatment, including "medication being taken at the time of the evaluation" were considered, but "did not correlate with performance" (p 474). Use of theophylline medication was recorded (Table 1, p 472) and included in this analysis. Theophylline medication may not have correlated with performance because such a high percentage (94%) of the children were using the medication. It is also possible that theophylline had an effect on performance, but