Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and School Absenteeism

Objectives: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are chronic diseases which negatively affect the schooling of children. The aim is to analyze school absenteeism and its causes in children followed for IBD. Methods: A prospective multicenter study of IBD patients aged from 5 to 18 years old, from September 2016 to June 2017. Data on absenteeism and its causes were collected via a monthly questionnaire completed by patients or their family by mail. The results were compared with existing data supplied by the school authorities (497 students without IBD divided by class). Results: 106 patients (62 boys), median age of 14 (5 to 18), were included. The global response rate was 83.1%. The IBD patients were absent an average of 4.8 +/− 5.5% of school days during the school year, against 3.2 +/− 1.6% for non IBD group (p = 0.034). Digestive disorders accounted for 34% of the causes of absenteeism. 27% of the absences were due to scheduled events (hospitalizations, endoscopy, or consultations). By excluding the absences for scheduled care, the rate of school absenteeism of IBD patients is significantly lower than that of non-IBD group. Conclusion: Children with IBD are more frequently absent from school than non IBD group. The main cause of school absenteeism appears to be associated with the disease itself. The share of scheduled absenteeism is quite large. The organization and scheduling of the patients' care path must be a priority to maximally limit the negative impact of their disease on the patients' schooling. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Alain Dabadie, MD, Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine, CHU Rennes Hôpital Sud, 16 boulevard de Bulgarie, BP 90347, 35203 Rennes Cedex 2, France (alain.dabadie@chu-rennes.fr). Received 22 August, 2018 Accepted 28 October, 2018 Funding/Conflict of interest: none for all authors. © 2018 by European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology,

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