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Background: Several cross-sectional studies have proposed a significant association between asthma and depression during childhood. Most rely on parent report. None have examined a longitudinal national sample.

Design/Methods: The NLSY 1994 and 1996 surveyed a representative sample of children in the United States. Independent Variables: Asthma was defined by parent report of child diagnosis. Chronic illness was defined by parent report that the child had physical health limitations but no asthma. All other children were defined as "healthy." Outcome Variables: Depressive symptoms were defined by parent report (subscale of Behavior Problems Index >75%ile). Prevalence was defined by >75%ile in 1996. Incidence of depressive symptoms was defined by <75%ile in 1994 and >75%ile in 1996. Logistic regression analyses included 7 demographic and socioeconomic variables.

Results: 4798 subjects had complete information from the BPI in 1994 and 1996. Within that population, 91 cases of asthma and 39 cases of chronic illness were identified. The median age of children in the study was 11 years.

Conclusions: Children with persistent asthma have over 3.7 times the odds of children without chronic illness to develop new signs of depression over a 2-year period. Clinicians should anticipate the mental health needs of children with persistent asthma and other physical illness, and further research should investigate the biologic plausibility of interactions between asthma and affective illness.