| Frequent medical absences in secondary school students: survey and case-control study. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 19546101 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of frequent absence (>20% of the school year) for reasons recorded as "medical" in secondary schools; to test the hypothesis that it is associated with physical symptoms and psychiatric disorder and not with serious organic disease; to assess unmet need for psychiatric management. DESIGN: Survey using routinely collected data and case-control study SETTING: Local authority secondary schools in Edinburgh, UK. PARTICIPANTS: School students in the first 4 years of secondary school: cases were those with frequent medical absence and controls those with a good attendance record (best 10% of year group), matched for age, gender and school class. MEASURES: Period prevalence of frequent absences. Cases and controls (students and their parents) completed questionnaires about the students' symptoms. Students were given a psychiatric diagnostic interview and a medical examination. The records of specialist medical services used by the students were reviewed. RESULTS: A substantial minority (2.2%) of students had frequent medical absences. Only seven of 92 (8%) cases had a serious organic disease and 10 of 92 (11%) had symptom-defined syndromes; the remainder had physical symptoms and minor medical illness. Frequent medical absence was strongly associated with psychiatric disorder (45% in cases vs 17% in controls, p<0.001, 95% CI for odds ratio 1.37 to 4.02). Only 14 of the 41 cases (34%) with a psychiatric diagnosis had attended NHS psychiatric services. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent absence for medical reasons is common, and more comprehensive management, including psychiatric assessment, is required to prevent long-term adverse consequences. |
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Authors:
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R Jones; P Hoare; R Elton; Z Dunhill; M Sharpe |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Multicenter Study; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Date: 2009-06-21 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Archives of disease in childhood Volume: 94 ISSN: 1468-2044 ISO Abbreviation: Arch. Dis. Child. Publication Date: 2009 Oct |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2009-09-22 Completed Date: 2009-10-26 Revised Date: 2010-03-30 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0372434 Medline TA: Arch Dis Child Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 763-7 Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Affiliation:
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Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, UK. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Absenteeism* Adolescent Chronic Disease / epidemiology* Epidemiologic Methods Female Humans Male Mental Disorders / epidemiology* Needs Assessment Schools / statistics & numerical data* Scotland / epidemiology Students / psychology, statistics & numerical data* |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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Arch Dis Child. 2010 Apr;95(4):314-5
[PMID:
20335245
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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