High school completion rates among men with hemophilia

Abstract

Background: The benefits of a high school diploma are well documented. Studies indicate that people with hemophilia have lower than average academic achievement, particularly if they have >12 bleeding episodes annually.

Purpose: This study compares the high school graduation rate of men with hemophilia to that of the U.S. population of men.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Universal Data Collection Program, a surveillance project conducted by approximately 130 hemophilia treatment centers in the nation. Data from 7842 men aged >or=18 years were evaluated to determine high school graduation status and were analyzed by race/ethnicity and severity of hemophilia. These data were collected between 1998 and 2008, and analysis was conducted in 2009.

Results: Men with hemophilia A had higher or similar high school graduation rates across all racial/ethnic groups and all levels of hemophilia severity, compared with U.S. men of the same age. Graduation rates for black and Hispanic men with hemophilia B were higher or similar to rates of U.S. men, but rates for whites were lower, especially among those with moderate and mild disease. However, when graduation rates were controlled for areas where Amish populations reside, differences in graduation rates for whites disappeared.

Conclusions: In this study, participants obtained hemophilia care at comprehensive hemophilia treatment centers. This multidisciplinary, family-centered care emphasizes prevention of complications, encourages medically supervised disease management, and facilitates psychosocial development. The care aims to maximize the affected child's participation in school. This care approach may partially explain the higher-than-expected high school graduation rates among the study population, which is affected by a rare, chronic, and potentially debilitating disorder.