Children with type 1 diabetes miss more school days than children without diabetes
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Children with type 1 diabetes missed nine more school days, on average, per year than children without the disease, according to new research published in Diabetes Care.
“Children living with diabetes and managing the condition achieve the same grades at age 16 as their peers without diabetes — and are equally as likely to progress to higher education,” Robert French, PhD, senior research fellow in the division of infection and immunity in the Diabetes Research Group at the School of Medicine at Cardiff University, U.K., said in a related press release. “This is quite remarkable, given that they miss more school sessions than those without the condition.”
In this quantitative study, researchers linked national diabetes audits with school and higher education data sets for all children aged 6 to 18 years who attended school between 2009 and 2016 in Wales. Researchers also collected data on the children’s household socioeconomic status, neighborhood deprivation, sex and age.
The primary outcomes were standardized educational attainment at age 16 years, higher education participation at age 18 years or older and school absences among children aged 6 to 16 years.
Overall, 263,426 children without diabetes and 1,212 children with type 1 diabetes were included in this study. Researchers observed no strong evidence of associations between having diabetes and student attainment (P < .96) or higher education entry rates (OR = 1.067; 95% CI, 0.919-1.239; P < .39) despite children with type 1 diabetes experiencing nine more absences from school per year (P < .0001).
However, researchers observed substantially better student attainment among children with the most optimal HbA1c levels compared with children without diabetes (P < .001), but student attainment was worse among children without diabetes with the least optimal HbA1c levels (P < .001). Student attainment did not differ based on duration of diabetes based on age at diagnosis.
According to the researchers, these findings may have important implications for improving outcomes for children with type 1 diabetes, as health care professionals can reassure parents that diabetes diagnosis or duration should not affect learning, that intensified glycemic management can help to improve educational outcomes for children with least optimal HbA1c.
“This study is important for how we address the health and education challenges for young people with diabetes in the future,” French said. “Schools and health care teams need to work together to provide more support to children and their families. This will ensure that children living with diabetes can thrive and reach their full academic potential.”
Reference:
- Children with type 1 diabetes miss more school, study suggests. www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2687917-children-with-type-1-diabetes-miss-more-school,-study-suggests. Published Dec. 1, 2022. Accessed Dec. 1, 2022.
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