Hemophilia morbidity, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement

Data from the Hemophilia Growth and Development Study (HGDS) were used to e valuate the association between hemophilia morbidity, measured by abnormali ties in coordination and gait (CG), and intellectual ability and academic a chievement. The CG abnormalities observed in the HGDS participants (n = 333 ) were primarily due to hemophilia-related morbidity. Although HGDS partici pants performed within the average range for age on measures of intellectua l ability there were meaningful differences between CG outcomes at baseline and throughout the 4 years of study. Participants without CG abnormalities consistently achieved higher scores than those with CG abnormalities on Re ading, Spelling, and Arithmetic subtests of the Wide Range Achievement Test -Revised. Our findings suggest that lowered achievement is related to the f unctional severity of hemophilia.