The attention span of diabetic children in the classroom appears to improve when their blood sugar levels are stabilized, researchers from Arizona State University in Tempe report.

Dr. David L. Wodrich and colleagues observed four boys with type 1 diabetes for 10 days while they were in the classroom, to assess their attentiveness. After that, the children were fitted with an insulin pump, which kept their blood sugar levels on an even keel. They were then observed again for 10 days.

The researchers found all of the boys showed improvements in behavior while they were performing learning tasks and when they were “off-task”. Improvements in the two categories of behavior averaged 20 percent and 34 percent, respectively, according to findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The changes in classroom attention “may have meaningful implications on the participants’ lives, as well as those of their peers and teachers,” Wodrich and colleagues write.

“Such changes may signal better long-term academic gains and diminished need for teacher time devoted to management and redirection in the long run,” they conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, February 2006.