ArticlePloS one2020
Health, educational and employment outcomes among children treated for a skin disorder: Scotland-wide retrospective record linkage cohort study of 766,244 children.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- From illness to inactivity: Exploring the influence of physical diseases on youth Not in Education, Employment, or Training status in Europe: A systematic literature review.Journal of adolescence · 2024Pooled it
- Transitioning Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Key Considerations for Adult Gastroenterologists.Pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology & nutrition · 2025Review
- Infant feeding method and special educational need in 191,745 Scottish schoolchildren: A national, population cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2023Article
- Educational outcomes in childhood cancer survivors: A Scotland-wide record-linkage study of 766,217 schoolchildren.PloS one · 2023Article
- Educational and health outcomes of schoolchildren in local authority care in Scotland: A retrospective record linkage study.PLoS medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTo compare health, educational and employment outcomes of schoolchildren receiving medication for a skin disorder with peers.
methodsThis retrospective population cohort study linked eight Scotland-wide databases, covering dispensed prescriptions, hospital admissions, maternity records, death certificates, annual pupil census, school examinations, school absences/exclusions and unemployment to investigate educational (absence, exclusion, special educational need, academic attainment), employment, and health (admissions and mortality) outcomes of 766,244 children attending local authority run primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland between 2009 and 2013.
resultsAfter adjusting for sociodemographic and maternity confounders the 130,087 (17.0%) children treated for a skin disorder had increased hospitalisation, particularly within one year of commencing treatment (IRR 1.38, 95% CI 1.35-1.41, p<0.001) and mortality (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.18-1.90, p<0.001). They had greater special educational need (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.17-1.21, p<0.001) and more frequent absences from school (IRR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.08, p<0.001) but did not exhibit poorer exam attainment or increased post-school unemployment. The associations remained after further adjustment for comorbid chronic conditions.
conclusionsDespite increased hospitalisation, school absenteeism, and special educational need, children treated for a skin disorder did not have poorer exam attainment or employment outcomes. Whilst findings relating to educational and employment outcomes are reassuring, the association with increased risk of mortality is alarming and merits further investigation.
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Registered trials
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