Educational Attainment No Worse for Children With T1DM

TUESDAY, Dec. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Children with type 1 diabetes do not have worse educational attainment or entry into higher education, despite missing more school, according to a study published in the December issue of Diabetes Care.

Robert French, Ph.D., from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues quantified associations of educational outcomes with type 1 diabetes status and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) management in Welsh school children. Outcomes were compared for 263,426 children without diabetes and 1,212 children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

The researchers observed no strong evidence of associations for student attainment or higher education entry rates on comparison between children with type 1 diabetes and children without diabetes, despite nine more sessions of absence from school annually for children with diabetes. Children in the most optimal HbA1c quintile had substantially better attainment than children without diabetes, while worse attainment was seen for children in the least optimal quintile. There was no difference seen in attainment with duration of exposure based on age at diagnosis.

"Our data strongly indicate that there is no overall negative effect of diabetes on educational performance, even for those with a longer duration of diabetes," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text