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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Teenagers who had meningitis as infants may see their education suffer as a result.
British researchers found 25 percent of teenagers who had bacterial meningitis during their first year of life were less likely to pass any of the national standard tests (known as the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams in Britain) than other students.
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GCSE exams are administered to 16-year-olds in England and Wales. Results are graded A to E. Students must pass five subjects with a C or better.
Researchers looked at the GCSE exam results of 750 students across England and Wales, 461 of which had meningitis as infants. Nearly 8-percent of those who had bacterial meningitis before their first birthday were in special schools -- about four-times the national average.
About 25 percent of students who had the infection did not pass any GCSE exams at grade C or above, compared to just 6 percent of students at mainstream schools. Almost half of the teens at state schools who had meningitis in early childhood did not meet the national educational standard of five grade C GSCE passes -- a rate twice as high as that of children without meningitis.
Researchers report even 5-year-olds who did not show any signs of meningitis-associated disability were half as likely to achieve the national standard as those in the comparison group.
The authors recommend close monitoring and continuous educational support for all children who had meningitis as infants.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, published online March 21, 2007
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