Epilepsy severely impacts school completion rates
New research
Young people who have been hospitalised for epilepsy have more than 3 times higher risk of not achieving the national minimum standard (NMS) on their NAPLAN test for numeracy and reading compared to peers, new Macquarie University research has found.
This is the first time the impact of childhood epilepsy on academic performance has been studied in Australia and was published in the international journal Seizure. The research was led by Dr Reidar Lystad from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie University.
The research found that young people hospitalised with epilepsy have a 78% higher risk of not completing year 10, 18% higher risk of not completing year 11 and 38% higher risk of not completing year 12. Academic performance for females is slightly more highly impacted than for males.
About 1 in 200 children in Australia are living with epilepsy and almost a third of them do not complete high school.
The researchers found that epilepsy impacts academic performance through both seizure rated and non-seizure related effects. Seizure related effects include school absenteeism. Non-seizure related effects include impaired attention, concentration and memory, common for children with epilepsy.
Dr Lystad said that childhood epilepsy can also lead to anxiety and depression and decreased quality of life.
“Early intervention to help with seizure control is not enough, we also need a multidisciplinary care approach,” he said.
“General practitioners, clinical specialists, emergency room staff, educators and families all have a role to play in ensuring that young people are receiving the support they need.”
The research linked health and education records across the NSW population for all young people aged ≤18 years with young people who had been hospitalised with epilepsy.
Performance on NAPLAN tests of young people who had been hospitalised with epilepsy was compared to the performance of their peers to see if they achieved the national minimum standard on their NAPLAN test. High school completion rates were also compared.
Read the journal article:
Lystad RP, McMaugh A, Herkes G, Badgery-Parker T, Cameron CM, Mitchell RJ. The impact of childhood epilepsy on academic performance: A population-based matched cohort study. Seizure. 2022 May 18;99:91-98. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2022.05.014. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35617806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2022.05.014
CENTRES RELATED TO THIS NEWS
Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Chrissy Clay, Media and Research Outreach Coordinator
Follow us on Twitter @AIHI_MQ
Photo by Pexels Jeswin Thomas