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School performance is impaired in children with both simple and complex congenital heart disease

Camilla Omann1,2, Rasmus Kristensen3,4, Ann Tabor5

  • 1Department of Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.

Frontiers in Pediatrics
|March 13, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) show impaired school performance and a higher need for special education. Maternal preeclampsia or smoking further increases this need in children with CHD.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a common birth defect.
  • The impact of CHD on school performance and special education needs is not well understood.
  • Existing research often focuses on complex CHD, leaving simple or uncorrected cases understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate school performance and special education requirements in children with simple and complex CHD.
  • To determine if prenatal exposure to preeclampsia or smoking influences special education needs in children with CHD.
  • To compare educational outcomes between children with CHD and their healthy peers.

Main Methods:

  • Nationwide population-based registry study of Danish children born between 1994 and 2012.
  • Inclusion of 7,559 children with CHD and 77,046 matched controls.
  • Exclusion of non-singletons and children with known syndromes; definition of exposure as CHD and outcome as need for special education.

Main Results:

  • Children with CHD exhibited a significantly higher need for special education compared to controls (OR: 2.14).
  • Even children with minor CHD showed an increased need for special education (OR: 1.99).
  • CHD children exposed to preeclampsia or maternal smoking had a greater risk of requiring special education.

Conclusions:

  • School performance is demonstrably impaired in children with congenital heart disease, irrespective of complexity.
  • Maternal risk factors such as preeclampsia and smoking exacerbate the need for special educational support in children with CHD.
  • Early identification and support are crucial for children with CHD to address educational challenges.
Abstract

Keywords:
congenital heart diseasematernal smokingneurodevelopmentpreeclampsiaschool performancespecial education

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