Epidemiology and incidence of pediatric concussions in general aspects of life

Chang Yaramothu, Arlene M. Goodman, Tara L. Alvarez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Concussions are one of the most common head injuries acquired within the pediatric population. While sport-related concussions are well documented, concussions within other aspects of a child’s life are not as well researched. The purpose of this study is to examine the incidence of a large pediatric concussion population in a broad range of daily activities. Methods: Patients’ gender and nature of injury were extracted from 1408 medical records of patients who were diagnosed with a concussion at Saint Peter’s Sports Medicine Institute. Statistical analyses were conducted for activities and environmental settings using chi-squared tests. Results: Concussions were most prevalent in organized sports (53.3%), followed by injuries within the following settings: school (16.5%), recreational (6.7%), motor vehicle collisions (6.6%), home (5.5%), and other (11.3%). Specifically, soccer (12.9%), school physical education (PE) class (10.6%), and football (9.8%) subcategories recorded the most incidences of concussion. For the PE class cohort (n = 149), significantly more females were diagnosed with a concussion compared to males (p < 0.001). Conclusions: PE-related concussions had the second highest incidence rate after organized sports. A significant gender difference was observed in PE class. Awareness about concussions and methods to reduce the risk of concussion is suggested for PE classes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number257
JournalBrain Sciences
Volume9
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Neuroscience

Keywords

  • Adolescent concussions
  • Concussion epidemiology
  • Concussions
  • Physical education

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