A new study out of Denmark suggests that severe infections leading to hospitalisations during childhood are associated with lower school achievement in adolescence.
The nationwide study, first published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (PIDJ) and reported by Science Daily, found that 600,000 children with higher numbers of hospitalisations for infections were associated with a reduced probability of completing ninth grade, as well as with lower test scores.
According to the finding of Dr Ole Köhler-Fosberg from Aarhus University Hospital and his team, the more hospitalisations for infections, the lower the odds of reaching ninth grade – the last year before secondary school in Denmark.
Children with five or more infections requiring hospitalisation had a 38% reduction in the odds of completing ninth grade.
“Our findings extend our understanding regarding the association between particularly severe infections during childhood and adolescence and cognitive achievement,” Dr. Köhler-Fosberg and his co-authors conclude.
However, Dr. Köhler-Fosberg pointed out that the study’s findings might be explained by missed school days or socioeconomic factors associated with the susceptibility of acquiring infections.
The study supports a growing body of research that shows that health can have a profound impact on student’s educational outcomes.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) these findings should serve as a basis for raising the profile of child health in the public policy debate.
Marc Suhrcke and Carmen de Paz Nieves from the WHO’s Regional Office for Europe say that by illustrating the potential for mutual gain, this should help stimulate cross-sectoral collaboration between the health and education sectors.
“Education and health are known to be highly correlated – that is, more education indicates better health and vice versa – but the actual mechanisms driving this correlation are unknown,” they said.
“The effect of health on education has been well researched in developing countries, as has the effect of education on health in both developing and industrializes countries. Such imbalance could signal lack of attention not only in research but also in the public policy debate.”
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