Faculty Collaboration Database

Intersection of Race and Socioeconomic Status on Concussion Recovery among NCAA Student-Athletes: A CARE Consortium Study. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2023 Dec 01;55(12):2180-2193

Date

07/24/2023

Pubmed ID

37486776

DOI

10.1249/MSS.0000000000003258

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85177779380 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   1 Citation

Abstract

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study are to 1) describe collegiate student-athlete (SA) race and household income and 2) evaluate time to normal academic performance (i.e., return to learn (RTL)), initiation of the return to play (iRTP) protocol, RTP protocol duration, and time to unrestricted RTP (URTP) after sustaining sport-related concussion (SRC).

METHODS: Data were collected between 2014 and 2020 by the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education Consortium. Baseline data were used to characterize participant demographics ( N = 22,819) and post-SRC outcomes ( n = 5485 SRC) in time to RTL ( n = 1724) and RTP outcomes ( n = 2646) by race. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests examined differences across race by demographic and injury characteristics. Kaplan-Meier curves estimated median days to RTL, iRTP protocol, RTP protocol completion, and URTP by race and covariate measures. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression assessed the effect of race on risk of RTL and RTP recovery time points.

RESULTS: SA largely identified as White (75%) followed by Black (14%), multiracial (7%), and Asian (3%). More than half (53%) of all SA reported a household income of >$120,000, whereas 41% of Black SA reported a household income <$60,000. Race was not associated with relative risk of RTL or iRTP but was associated with RTP protocol completion and URTP. Non-Black/non-White SA were 17% less likely (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.83; 95% confidence interval = 0.71, 0.97) to complete the RTP protocol, and Black SA were 17% more likely (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.17; 95% confidence interval = 1.05, 1.31) to reach the URTP time point compared with White SA.

CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest collegiate SA enrolled in the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education Consortium are primarily White and come from household incomes well above the US median. Race was not associated with RTL or iRTP but was associated with RTP protocol duration and total time to URTP. Clinicians should be conscientious of how their implicit or preconceived biases may influence SRC management among National Collegiate Athletic Association SA.

Author List

Boltz AJ, Memmini AK, Brett BL, Snedden TR, Yengo-Kahn AM, Chandran A, Conway DP, Shah R, Pasquina PF, McAllister TW, McCrea MA, Master CL, Broglio SP, CARE CONSORTIUM INVESTIGATORS†

Authors

Benjamin Brett PhD Assistant Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Michael McCrea PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Athletes
Athletic Injuries
Brain Concussion
Humans
Social Class
Students