Educational Attainment and Employment Status of Adults Living With Congenital Heart Disease in the United States, CH STRONG 2016-2019.

Background: Our objective was to characterize the education and employment history of young adults with congenital heart defects (CHD) living in the United States.

Methods: The 2016-2019 Congenital Heart Survey To Recognize Outcomes, Needs, and well-beinG collected data from young adults (ages 19-38) with CHD identified from active birth defect in Arkansas, Arizona, and Atlanta, Georgia. Educational attainment, employment history, and special education between kindergarten and 12th grade were self-/proxy-reported. Respondent percentages were standardized to the eligible population by CHD severity, birth year, site, sex, and maternal race/ethnicity and compared by CHD severity using p values from Z-scores. Log-binomial prevalence ratios (aPRs) assessed associations between respondent characteristics and outcomes, adjusting for CHD severity, age group, sex, race/ethnicity, and site. Employment models also adjusted for education. Point estimates were compared to the 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year general population estimates.

Results: Among 1438 respondents, 28.3% attained ≥ bachelor's degree and 22.1% were unemployed for ≥ 12 months. Estimates were comparable by CHD severity (aPRs ~1.0) and similar to general population estimates (in ACS, 21% attained ≥ bachelor's degree and 26% were unemployed). About 25.3% of adults with CHD received special education, more commonly adults with severe (32.9%) than nonsevere CHD (23.5%, p = 0.01).

Conclusions: Among young adults with CHD, educational attainment and employment did not substantially differ by CHD severity or from general population rates. One in four used special education between kindergarten and 12th grade. Clinical guidelines recommend ongoing educational and vocational support to individuals with CHD as needed so this population continues to thrive.