The impact of childhood epilepsy on academic performance: A population-based matched cohort study

Reidar P Lystad; Anne McMaugh; Geoffrey Herkes; Tim Badgery-Parker; Cate M Cameron; Rebecca J Mitchell

doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2022.05.014

The impact of childhood epilepsy on academic performance: A population-based matched cohort study

Seizure. 2022 Jul:99:91-98. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2022.05.014. Epub 2022 May 18.

Authors

Reidar P Lystad¹, Anne McMaugh², Geoffrey Herkes³, Tim Badgery-Parker⁴, Cate M Cameron⁵, Rebecca J Mitchell⁴

Affiliations

¹ Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.. Electronic address: reidar.lystad@mq.edu.au.
² The Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
³ Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Jamieson Trauma Institute, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Metro North Health, Brisbane, Australia.; Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Centre for Healthcare Transformation, Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI), Brisbane, Australia.

PMID: 35617806
DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2022.05.014

Abstract

Objectives: To compare academic performance and high school completion of young people admitted to hospital with epilepsy and matched peers from the general population not admitted to hospital with epilepsy during the study period.

Methods: A population-based matched case-comparison cohort study of young people aged ≤18 years hospitalised with epilepsy during 2005-2018 in New South Wales, Australia, using linked birth, health, education, and mortality records. The comparison cohort was matched on age, sex, and residential postcode. Generalised linear mixed modelling examined risk of school performance below the national minimum standard (NMS), and generalised linear regression examined risk of not completing high school for young people hospitalised with epilepsy compared to matched peers not hospitalised with epilepsy during the study period. Adjusted relative risks (ARRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were derived from the final models.

Results: Young people hospitalised with epilepsy had more than 3 times higher risk of not achieving the NMS for numeracy (ARR: 3.40; 95%CI 2.76‒4.18) and reading (ARR: 3.15; 95%CI 2.60‒3.82), compared to matched peers. Young people hospitalised with epilepsy had a 78% higher risk of not completing year 10 (ARR: 1.78; 95%CI 1.14‒2.79), 18% higher risk of not completing year 11 (ARR: 1.18; 95%CI 0.97‒1.45), and 38% higher risk of not completing year 12 (ARR: 1.38; 95%CI 1.14‒1.67), compared to matched counterparts.

Conclusion: Young people hospitalised with epilepsy have higher risk of not achieving minimum standards for numeracy and reading and not completing high school compared to matched peers. There is a need for effective strategies and interventions (e.g., early seizure control and improved multidisciplinary management and care coordination) to minimise the potential adverse effect of epilepsy on education and its sequelae such as early school leaving, unemployment and poverty in adulthood.

Keywords: Academic performance; Epilepsy; High school completion; Young people.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Case-Control Studies
Cohort Studies
Educational Status
Epilepsy* / epidemiology
Humans
Schools