Association between type 1 diabetes mellitus and educational attainment in childhood: a systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION: Type 1 diabetes has the potential to significantly impact children’s educational attainment. With the increase in incidence, quantifying this effect would be useful to assess how much additional support should be focused on children with type 1 diabetes in school. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a systematic review of all observational studies and randomised controlled trials, including individuals both with and without a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes who have undertaken high stakes testing at the end of compulsory schooling when under 18 years of age. The search will cover both peer-reviewed and grey literature available from January 2004 to January 2018. The following seven databases will be searched: Ovid MEDLINE (1946 to present), Ovid MEDLINE Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid EMBASE (1947 to present), Thomson Reuters Web of Science, EBSCO Education Resources Information Center, EBSCO British Education Index and EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by two reviewers with any disagreements resolved via a third reviewer. The quality and risk of bias in the observational studies included in this review will be assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We aim to conduct a meta-analysis and will assess heterogeneity between the included studies and potential for publication bias if sufficient (>10) studies are included. RESULTS AND DISSEMINATION: Formal ethical approval is not required as individual patient data will not be collected. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017084078.