Cognitive function and academic achievement in children with type 1 diabetes

Background: Diabetes can affects people in three deferent aspect; physical , social and psychological. Occurrence of type 1 diabetes is one of the most significant factors affecting the development of a child on many levels, including cognitive development. Several studies have proven that diabetes in children has a significant effect on neurocognitive function of the brain and low academic achievement. Objectives: This review aimed to apply the concept of developmental and educational theories on school-age children with type 1diabetes, explore the impact of having school-age children with type 1 diabetes on cognitive function, verbal and academic skills. Methods: The meta-analysis sample of 1,029 children with type 1 diabetes and 751 control children from 15 studies. Tasks from individual studies were assigned to one of six cognitive functions as follows: intelligence, learning and memory (verbal and visual modalities), psychomotor activity and speed of information processing, attention/ executive function, academic achievement, and visual motor integration. A second meta-analysis is conducted to compare children with early onset diabetes and those with later onset. Results: Type 1 diabetes was associated with slightly lower overall cognition, with small differences compared with control subjects across a broad range of domains, excluding learning and memory, which were similar for both groups. Learning and American Journal of Research Communication www.usa-journals.com Abozaid, 2014: Vol 2(12) 23 [email protected] memory skills, both verbal and visual, were more affected for children with earlyonset diabetes than late-onset diabetes. Conclusion: Diabetes influence academic skills and school performance of school age children. Studies have been shown that diabetes has an effect on cognitive function e.g. learning, memory skills, verbal and visual.