Effect of type 1 diabetes on school performance in a dynamic world: new analysis exploring Swedish register data

Abstract

This paper investigates if the effect of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) on school performance, documented in prior research, has changed in more recent birth cohorts of children using national Swedish population register data. The issue is of interest because management and treatment of the disease have improved over the last decades and, furthermore, because of changes in the educational grading system. Despite these changes, data indicate a persistent negative effect of T1DM on compulsory and upper secondary school grades with a standardized effect size of −0.109 and −0.070, respectively, and the results appear only marginally smaller compared to earlier findings in cohorts completing school under the previous grading system. Moreover, the results are consistent for alternative model specifications and econometric estimation strategies. Whereas access to new treatment technologies and improved diabetes management strategies has reduced the burden of diabetes in daily life, the results from this study indicate that continued efforts are needed to improve the situation in school for children with T1DM to prevent potential long-term socioeconomic consequences.

Prevalence of Type 1 Diabetes and Presence of Optimal Support Services in Public Schools a Case Study of Gweru, Zimbabwe

“…The welfare and long-term being of diabetic children is important for the child's safety and optimal academic performance [2]. The school environment remains crucial for these children as they spend most of the time in school and imbalances between medication, food and physical activity can severely affect them.…”

“…If untreated and or managed well the condition has some immediate complications such as hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia and long term complications such as eye disease (retinopathy), kidney disease (nephropathy) and nerve disease (neuropathy). All these can affect the school child inevitably reducing school attendance, suboptimal class performance and in the long term negative socio-economic consequences [2]. The main goal of management is to maintain glycaemia as close to metabolic normality as possible.…”

Educational achievement among children with a disability: do parental resources compensate for disadvantage?

“…The evidence regarding the impact of type 1 diabetes on educational outcomes is also mixed. Some studies have found that children with type 1 diabetes have poorer educational outcomes compared with their healthy peers ( Fleming et al, 2019b ; Persson et al, 2019 ), while other studies show negligible differences in the educational outcomes of children with and without type 1 diabetes ( Begum et al, 2020 ; Cooper et al, 2016 ). Several studies document that children with epilepsy have higher school absenteeism, are more likely to have special educational needs and have lower educational attainment than their typically developing peers ( Champaloux & Young, 2015 ; Fleming et al, 2019c ).…”

Educational outcomes and the role of comorbidity among adolescents with type 1‐diabetes in Denmark

“…A range of studies have shown that childhood type 1 diabetes lead to increased absence from school, and has a negative effect on learning abilities, compulsory school grades and educational attainment 4–12 . However, results are conflicting, as other studies find that children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes perform equally well as their peers in school, 13 and that type 1 diabetes is not associated with educational attainment and entry into higher education 14,15 .…”