Celiac disease and upper secondary school achievement in Sweden A retrospective cohort study

Both undiagnosed celiac disease and some chronic childhood diseases are associated with lower academic achievement. However, there is little knowledge of achievements in those diagnosed with celiac disease. Our aim was to investigate school achievements in upper secondary school among Swedish adolescents with celiac disease.

We performed a retrospective cohort study using register data. We analyzed choice of upper secondary school program, completion of upper secondary school including achievements of basic eligibility for college/university, and final grade in individuals with celiac disease diagnosed before 15 years of age, born 1991-97. We compared with the Swedish population of the same birth years. Analyses were adjusted for sex, year of birth, living region at 17 years of age, and parental education as well as income.

The cohort included 734 074 individuals, whereof 3 257 (62% females) with celiac disease. There was no significant difference in choice of upper secondary school program. No significant difference was found in completion or achieving basic eligibility for college/university in adjusted analyses. The mean final grade in the celiac disease group was 13.34 (standard deviation 4.85) compared to 12.78 (standard deviation 5.01) in the reference population (p < 0.001), out of a maximum of 20. The effect of celiac disease on final grade remained in adjusted analyses (p = 0.012).

We found that diagnosed celiac disease does not negatively affect school achievements in upper secondary school. This finding suggests the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up programs of celiac disease could reverse potential deleterious academic processes.