A meta-analysis of math performance in Turner syndrome

Studies investigating the relationship between Turner syndrome and math learning disability have used a wide variation of tasks designed to test various aspects of mathematical competencies. Although these studies have revealed much about the math deficits common to Turner syndrome, their diversity makes comparisons between individual studies difficult. As a result, the consistency of outcomes among these diverse measures remains unknown. The overarching aim of this review is to provide a systematic meta-analysis of the differences in math and number performance between females with Turner syndrome and age-matched neurotypical peers.

We provide a meta-analysis of behavioral performance in Turner syndrome relative to age-matched neurotypical populations on assessments of math and number aptitude. In total, 112 comparisons collected across 17 studies were included.

Although 54% of all statistical comparisons in our analyses failed to reject the null hypothesis, our results indicate that meaningful group differences exist on all comparisons except those that do not require explicit calculation.

Taken together, these results help elucidate our current understanding of math and number weaknesses in Turner syndrome, while highlighting specific topics that require further investigation.