Concussions Aren’t So Rare

Concussions are much more common than previously thought, new studies show. And if your child plays contact sports, the most dangerous time of year may lie ahead. The months of September and October have the highest incidence of concussions for those under age 22. This isn’t surprising, since that’s the start of football season in most places around the country.

A number of concussion-related studies have just come out in conjunction with the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The highest incidence of concussion was seen in the 15-19 age group.

Among them are a review of administrative health records of more than 8.8 million members of a large private-payer insurance group.

“Our team … noted that 32 percent of the individuals diagnosed with concussion were between the ages of 10 and 19 years old, with the largest increase in incidence between 2007 and 2014 in that age group. This is the first study to evaluate trends in concussion diagnoses across the general U.S. population in a variety of age groups,” said lead author Alan L. Zhang, M.D., from the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.

The highest incidence of concussion was seen in the 15-19 age group (16.5 cases per 1,000 patients), followed by the age groups of 10-14 (10.5 per 1,000), 20-24 (5.2 per 1,000), and 5-9 (3.5 per 1,000).

Overall, there was a 60 percent increase in concussion occurrences from 2007 to 2014.

The largest increases were in the 10-14 (143 percent) and 15-19 (87 percent) age groups. Fifty-six percent of concussions were diagnosed in the emergency room and 29 percent in a physician’s office — the remainder were seen in urgent care or inpatient settings.

Zhang and his team also noted that irrespective of sport, the incidence of concussion in male patients was 1.5 times higher than that in female patients.

“The rates at which concussions are rising may be partly due to the rise in youth sports participation, and also better diagnostic skills/training for coaches and sports medicine professionals,” said Zhang. “This trend is alarming, however, and the youth population should definitely be prioritized for ongoing work in concussion diagnosis, education, treatment, and prevention.”

Sports- and recreation-related concussions are somewhere between 1.1 and 1.9 million annually in children under 18 years of age.

Another study from the University of Washington and the University of Colorado (detailed in this month’s Journal of Pediatrics) estimates that the number of sports- and recreation-related concussions (SRRCs) are somewhere between 1.1 and 1.9 million annually in children under age 18. Most of those children are not seen in health care settings. The study’s authors point out that a better system is needed to develop a more accurate surveillance program and improve primary prevention efforts aimed at children, parents, and coaches.

The high school years present greater concussion rates than the middle school or college years, additional studies show — and though boys generally have more concussions than girls, the largest disparity in youth concussions between the genders occurs from ages 5 to 10. That’s according to FAIR Health, a national, independent nonprofit that assesses health care costs and health insurance information.

All of this comes as a new round of class-action concussion lawsuits have been filed against the NCAA. Former college football players from Stanford, Boston College, University of North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Brigham Young University are part of this latest round, according to ESPN.com. Fifteen other lawsuits have been filed since May — and as many as 50 are expected.

Related: Continuing Concussion Confusion

“The lawsuits name major college conferences such as the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten, the NCAA, and in some cases individual schools. The players are seeking damages for injuries they claim are the result of mishandled concussions they suffered while playing college football,” ESPN.com reported.

NFL legend Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers has also just filed a lawsuit against helmet maker Riddell. Hornung claims the company knew about the dangers of concussions — even 50 years ago — and that its helmets would do little to nothing to prevent head trauma. Yet they failed to warn the players, his suit claims.

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