Children with Oral Clefts Are at Greater Risk for Persistent Low Achievement in School than Classmates

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Arch Dis Child
• Personal Author:
  Wehby, George L. ; Collett, Brent R. ; Barron, Sheila ; Romitti, Paul ; Ansley, Timothy
• Description:
  Objectives
  
  To examine trajectories in academic achievement for children with oral clefts versus unaffected classmates and explore predictors of persistently low achievement among children with oral clefts.
  
  Design
  
  Longitudinal cohort study of academic achievement in a population-based sample.
  
  Setting and Participants
  
  Children born from 1983 through 2003 with oral clefts were identified from the Iowa Registry for Congenital and Inherited Disorders and matched to unaffected classmates by sex, school/school district, and month and year of birth.
  
  Main Outcome Measures
  
  Academic achievement was measured from Iowa Testing Programs (ITP) data. Outcomes included achievement scores in reading, language, and mathematics.
  
  Results
  
  Academic achievement data were available for 586 children with oral clefts and 1,873 unaffected classmates. Achievement trajectories were stable for both groups. Children with oral clefts were more likely than their classmates to be classified into persistent, low achievement trajectories, including when adjusting for socioeconomic differences: OR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.23–2.16 for reading; OR=1.73, 95% CI: 1.29–2.31 for language; OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.05–1.99 for math. Predictors of low achievement were cleft palate only (versus other cleft types), adolescent mothers, low maternal education, and less frequent use of prenatal care.
  
  Conclusions
  
  Most children have steady academic trajectories and children with oral clefts are at greater risk for persistent, low achievement in school than unaffected classmates. These findings support the need for routine, early screening for academic deficits in this population. Cleft palate only, low parental education and adolescent mothers are associated with increased risk for persistent low achievement.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Academic Achievement Achievement Adolescent Article Child Cleft Lip Cleft Palate Cohort Studies Educational Measurement Female Humans Learning Disorders Longitudinal Studies Male Mothers Oral Clefts Risk Schooling Problems Schools Students

  More +
• Source:
  Arch Dis Child. 100(12):1148-1154
• Pubmed ID:
  26347387
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5018039
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R03 DE022094/DE/NIDCR NIH HHS/United States ; U01 DD001035/DD/NCBDD CDC HHS/United States ; 1 R03 DE022094/DE/NIDCR NIH HHS/United States
• Volume:
  100
• Issue:
  12
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:306b029c58e68c98301dcbb51bfc4e59aa43032bcad672069306d5d674e34677
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/82843/cdc_82843_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 650.29 KB ]