Childhood-Onset Epilepsy Tied to Lower Rate of Educational Attainment

THURSDAY, Aug. 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Childhood-onset epilepsy is associated with significantly lower completion rates of primary school and long-term educational attainment, according to a study published online Aug. 18 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.Theresa Wimberley, Ph.D., from Aarhus University in Denmark, and colleagues conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study using Danish registers to examine educational achievement from adolescence into adulthood among individuals with childhood-onset epilepsy. A total of 1,195,138 individuals born between 1987 and 2005 were included and followed through 2023. Individuals with epilepsy identified before age 15 years (11,758 participants) were age- and sex-matched to reference individuals without epilepsy.The researchers found that individuals with epilepsy had higher odds of not completing primary school compared with reference individuals (adjusted odds ratio, 3.0) and had lower grades in mathematics and language (−0.9 and −0.6, respectively). Across all higher levels, educational attainment rates were reduced by 50 to 56 percent. By age 35 years, only 9.3 percent of individuals with epilepsy had attained the highest educational level compared with 19.5 percent of age-matched reference individuals."Our findings underscore the need for assessment of academic capacity as well as targeted intervention, integrating educational and psychosocial support to optimize the educational potential for young people with childhood-onset epilepsy," the authors write.One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full TextEditorial.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Childhood-Onset Epilepsy Tied to Lower Rate of Educational Attainment

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