AIM:To investigate whether perceptions of task difficulty on neuropsychological tests predicted academic achievement after controlling for glucose levels and depression.METHODS :Participants were type 1 diabetic adolescents,with a mean age = 12.5 years(23 females and 16 males),seen at a northwest suburban Chicago hospital.The sample population was free of comorbid clinical health conditions.Subjects completed a three-part neuropsychological battery including the Digit Symbol Task,Trail Making Test,and Controlled Oral Word Association test.Following each task,individuals rated task difficulty and then completed a depression inventory.Performance on these three tests is reflective of neuropsychological status in relation to glucose control.Blood glucose levels were measured immediately prior to and after completing the neuropsychological battery using a glucose meter.Hb A1 c levels were obtained from medical records.Academic performance was based on self-reported grades in Math,Science,and English.Data was analyzed using multiple regression models to evaluate the associations between academic performance,perception of task difficulty,and glucose control.RESULTS:Perceptions of difficulty on a neuropsychological battery significantly predicted academic performance after accounting for glucose control and depression.Perceptions of difficulty on the neuropsychological tests were inversely correlated with academic performance(r =-0.48),while acute(blood glucose) and long-term glucose levels increased along with perceptions of task difficulty(r = 0.47).Additionally,higher depression scores were associatedwith poorer academic performance(r =-0.43).With the first regression analysis,perception of difficulty on the neuropsychological tasks contributed to 8% of the variance in academic performance after controlling for peripheral blood glucose and depression.In the second regression analysis,perception of difficulty accounted for 11% of the variance after accounting for academic performance and depression.The final regression analysis indicated that perception of difficulty increased with peripheral blood glucose,contributing to 22% of the variance.Most importantly,after controlling for perceptions of task difficulty,academic performance no longer predicted glucose levels.Finally,subjects who found the cognitive battery difficult were likely to have poor academic grades.CONCLUSION:Perceptions of difficulty on neurological tests exhibited a significant association with academic achievement,indicating that deficits in this skill may lead to academic disadvantage in diabetic patients. AIM: To investigate whether perceptions of task difficulty on neuropsychological tests predicted academic achievement after controlling for glucose levels and depression. METHODS: Participants were type 1 diabetic adolescents, with a mean age = 12.5 years (23 females and 16 males), seen at a northwest suburban Chicago hospital. The sample population was free of comorbid clinical health conditions. Subjects completed a three-part neuropsychological battery including the Digit Symbol Task, Trail Making Test, and Controlled Oral Word Association test. Managing each task, individuals rated task difficulty and then completed a depression inventory. Performance on these three tests is reflective of neuropsychological status in relation to glucose control. Blood glucose levels were measured immediately prior to and after completing the neuropsychological battery using a glucose meter. HP A1 c levels were obtained from medical records . Academic performance was based on self-reported grades in Math, Science, a nd English. Data was analyzed using multiple regression models to evaluate the associations between academic performance, perception of task difficulty, and glucose control .RESULTS: Perceptions of difficulty on a neuropsychological battery significantly predicted academic performance after accounting for glucose control and depression .Perceptions of difficulty on the neuropsychological tests were inversely correlated with academic performance (r = -0.48), while acute (blood glucose) and long-term glucose levels increased along with perceptions of task difficulty (r = 0.47) .Additionally, higher depression scores were associatedwith poorer academic performance (r = -0.43) .With the first regression analysis, perception of difficulty on the neuropsychological tasks contributed to 8% of the variance in academic performance after controlling for peripheral blood glucose and depression. In the second regression analysis, perception of difficulty accounted for 11% of the variance after accounting for academic performance and depression. The final regression analysis indicates that perception of difficulty increased with peripheral blood glucose, contributing to 22% of the variance. Still important, after controlling for perceptions of task difficulty, academic performance no longer predicted glucose levels. Finaally, subjects who found the cognitive battery difficult were likely to have poor academic grades.CONCLUSION: Perceptions of difficulty on neurological tests exhibited a significant association with academic achievement, indicating that deficits in this skill may lead to academic disadvantage in diabetic patients.