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Gestational age at birth, chronic conditions and school outcomes: a population-based data linkage study of children

Nicolás Libuy1,2, Ruth Gilbert3, Louise Mc Grath-Lone1

  • 1Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, UK.

International Journal of Epidemiology
|May 19, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Children born with chronic health conditions have poorer school outcomes than those born preterm. Early health assessments can improve educational preparation for these children.

Area of Science:

  • Child development
  • Pediatric health
  • Educational psychology

Background:

  • Child development is influenced by gestational age and early health conditions.
  • School attainment and special educational needs (SEN) are key indicators of child development.
  • Understanding these factors across the full gestational spectrum is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate child development outcomes (school attainment, SEN) in relation to gestational age.
  • To assess the impact of chronic health conditions on these outcomes.
  • To provide evidence for early intervention strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a national linked dataset of hospital and education records in England.
  • Evaluated school attainment at Key Stage 1 (age 7) and Key Stage 2 (age 11).
  • Assessed special educational needs (SEN) by age 11, stratified by chronic health conditions and size-for-gestation.

Main Results:

  • Significant increase in children not achieving expected levels from 7.6% at 41 weeks to 50.0% at 24 weeks gestation.
  • Special educational needs (SEN) prevalence ranged from 29.0% at 41 weeks to 82.6% at 24 weeks gestation.
  • Children born early term (37-38 weeks) showed poorer outcomes; chronic conditions contributed more to SEN than preterm birth.

Conclusions:

  • Early identified chronic conditions are a greater contributor to poor school outcomes than preterm birth.
  • There is a need to evaluate how early health characteristics can enhance educational preparation.
  • Interventions should focus on supporting children with chronic conditions before and at school entry.
Abstract

Keywords:
EnglandGestational ageacademic performancechronic conditionsspecial educational needswhole-population cohort

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