analyzed for their association with two measures of later school achievement, completing ninth grade and average scores on the final ninth-grade school examinations.Any hospital contact for infections was associated with a reduction in the odds of completing ninth grade. The more hospitalizations for infections, the lower the odds of reaching the educational milestone were found during the study.Primary care treatment with anti-infective drugs – indicating the presence of common, less-severe infections was unrelated to the chances of completing ninth grade. In general, the found that less-severe infections not requiring hospitalization did not affect the children’s cognitive ability.The study adds to a growing body of evidence linking poorer school achievement to an increased risk of adverse health and socioeconomic outcomes later in life.Aside from brain damage caused by serious infections like rubella or encephalitis, there was a growing awareness that a wider range of infections may have a more delayed impact on brain function.The findings are published in the Journal of The Pediatric Infectious Disease.
