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Background: Asthma is associated with socioeconomic status, affects daily life, and school attendance among adolescents. Rhinitis affect job choices, but it is unclear whether asthma in childhood and adolescence affects socioeconomic status (SES) with regard to occupation and education in early adulthood.

Method: In 1996, all children aged 7-8 years (y) in three municipalities in northern Sweden were invited to a parental questionnaire survey, and 97% participated. The cohort was followed up, and 2017 individuals (59% of the original cohort) participated at 7-8, 11-12, 19 and 27-28y. Current asthma was defined as physician diagnosis of asthma with wheeze or use of asthma medication during the last 12 months. Asthma groups: “early-onset, in remission” (asthma at 7-8 or 11-12 y but not at 19y), “early-onset, persistent” (asthma at 7-8 or 11-12 y and at 19 y) and “late-onset” (no asthma at 7-8 or 11-12 y but asthma at 19 y). In multinomial regression analyses adjusted for sex, BMI, smoking habits and family history of asthma, the association between asthma and SES (level of education and occupation) at age 27-28y were analyzed by using never asthma as reference.

Results: Subjects with early-onset persistent asthma had an increased risk of not reaching higher education than primary school (OR 3.54, 95%CI 1.17-10.74), or finishing university studies less than 3 years long (OR 2.05, 95%CI 1.05-4.01) compared with non-asthmatics. They also avoid occupations in the socioeconomic status group of non-manual employees, intermediate level with occupations such as clerks, assistant nurses, police officers, musicians, foremen etc, (OR 0.41 95%CI 0.17-0.99).

Conclusion: Persistent asthma since childhood affected length of education and job choice in early adulthood.