Scholastic performance and ambitions in retropositive and vulnerable pediatric patients: A prospective study

It is widely recognized that HIV epidemic has a negative impact on retropositive pediatric patients. However, at present, the school performance and ambitions in retropositive and vulnerable pediatric patients from India are lacking.

The aim of this study was to analyze the possible association between scholastic performance and ambitions in retropositive and vulnerable status in pediatric patients.

Case-control study was conducted over a period of 2 years. Forty-two retropositive, vulnerable, and equal age- and gender-matched controls between the age of 6 and 16 years were included. All children or parents were enquired about performance, attendance, grades in last academic year, and their ambitions in life. The data were collected in a prevalidated questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS Version 20.

A total 42 children between the age of 6 and 16 years were included. Twenty-seven (64.3%) were males and 15 (35.7%) females. Eleven (26.2%) were retropositive, 27 (64.3%) had one infected parent, and 4 (9.5%) patients had both the parents retropositive. Twelve (28.5%) cases failed their previous academic years compared to 1 (2.3%) control. Only 2 (4.7%) had attendance more than 90% in cases as compared to 18 (42.8%) among controls. Twenty-one (50%) attributed feeling of isolation as a cause of poor academic performance, while none of the controls did the same. There was a significant association between poor grades and poor attendance at school and retropositive (P < 0.001). The odds ratio of feeling of isolation was 1.62.

Retropositive and vulnerable status significantly affect the academic performance and ambitions in these children.