Type 1 diabetes mellitus and educational attainment in childhood: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this systematic review was to evaluate available literature on whether type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has an impact on educational attainment in individuals undertaking high stakes standardised testing at the end of compulsory schooling. DESIGN: A systematic review was undertaken comparing educational attainment for individuals with and without T1DM who have undertaken high stakes testing at the end of compulsory schooling. DATA SOURCES: A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, MEDLINE (epub ahead of print, in-process and other non-indexed citations), EMBASE, Web of Science, British Education Index, Education Resources Information Center and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature was undertaken on 15 January 2018 and updated on 17 January 2019. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Included studies fulfilled the following criteria: observational study or randomised controlled trial; included individuals who have undertaken high stakes testing at the end of compulsory schooling; compared the grades obtained by individuals with T1DM with a representative population control. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two reviewers performed study selection and data extraction independently. Quality and risk of bias in the observational studies included were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A detailed narrative synthesis of the included studies was completed. RESULTS: 3103 articles were identified from the database search, with two Swedish cohort studies (using the same linked administrative data) meeting final inclusion criteria. A small but statistically significant difference was reported in mean final grades, with children with T1DM found to have lower mean grades than their non-diabetic counterparts (adjusted mean difference 0.07–0.08). CONCLUSIONS: More contemporary research is required to evaluate the impact of T1DM in childhood on educational attainment in individuals undertaking high stakes standardised testing at the end of compulsory schooling, taking into consideration the substantial advances in management of T1DM in the last decade. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017084078.