摘要：Objectives. We investigated Upstate New York school building conditions and examined the associations between school absenteeism and building condition problems. Methods. We merged data from the 2005 Building Condition Survey of Upstate New York schools with 2005 New York State Education Department student absenteeism data at the individual school level and evaluated associations between building conditions and absenteeism at or above the 90th percentile. Results. After adjustment for confounders, student absenteeism was associated with visible mold (odds ratio [OR] = 2.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.34, 3.68), humidity (OR = 3.07; 95% CI = 1.37, 6.89), poor ventilation (OR = 3.10; 95% CI = 1.79, 5.37), vermin (OR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.32, 3.76), 6 or more individual building condition problems (OR = 2.97; 95% CI = 1.84, 4.79), and building system or structural problems related to these conditions. Schools in lower socioeconomic districts and schools attended by younger students showed the strongest associations between poor building conditions and absenteeism. Conclusions. We found associations between student absenteeism and adverse school building conditions. Future studies should confirm these findings and prioritize strategies for school condition improvements. School building conditions 1 – 3 and school absenteeism 4 – 7 have been associated with student health. Asthma is one of the leading causes of student absenteeism, 4 , 8 and respiratory infections likely account for a substantial fraction of short-term illness-related absenteeism 8 among children with 9 and without asthma. Poor building conditions may contribute to these respiratory problems, resulting in greater school absenteeism or poorer performance. 4 , 8 However, few studies 8 , 10 – 14 have evaluated associations between school building conditions and student absenteeism. Several studies have found associations between parent- or caregiver-reported school absenteeism and exposures to adverse environmental conditions at home. 15 , 16 Although existing literature has suggested associations between building conditions and school absenteeism, few studies have looked specifically at students' exposures to adverse school building conditions reported by an objective observer, and these were limited to 1 or 2 exposures. 10 – 14 Furthermore, some prior studies relied on parental report of student absenteeism rather than using objective school records. 10 , 14 Our goal was to build on the knowledge from previous studies by using objective records of students' exposures to adverse school building conditions and student absenteeism. We had access to information on a broad range of building conditions from many schools and were able to evaluate cumulative effects of exposure to multiple building conditions. Because we sampled from all Upstate New York schools, our results should be generalizable to a wide range of schools. Our specific aim was to evaluate the associations between school absenteeism and poor building conditions among Upstate New York schools.
