Age Differences in Recovery After Sport-Related Concussion: A Comparison of High School and Collegiate Athletes. J Athl Train 2016 Feb;51(2):142-52
Date
03/15/2016Pubmed ID
26974186Pubmed Central ID
PMC4852320DOI
10.4085/1062-6050-51.4.04Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84964938490 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 69 CitationsAbstract
CONTEXT: Younger age has been hypothesized to be a risk factor for prolonged recovery after sport-related concussion, yet few studies have directly evaluated age differences in acute recovery.
OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical recovery patterns for high school and collegiate athletes.
DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.
SETTING: Large, multicenter prospective sample collected from 1999-2003 in a sports medicine setting.
SUBJECTS: Concussed athletes (n = 621; 545 males and 76 females) and uninjured controls (n = 150) participating in high school and collegiate contact and collision sports (79% in football, 15.7% in soccer, and the remainder in lacrosse or ice hockey).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Participants underwent evaluation of symptoms (Graded Symptom Checklist), cognition (Standardized Assessment of Concussion, paper-and-pencil neuropsychological tests), and postural stability (Balance Error Scoring System). Athletes were evaluated preinjury and followed serially at several time points after concussive injury: immediately, 3 hours postinjury, and at days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 45 or 90 (with neuropsychological measures administered at baseline and 3 postinjury time points).
RESULTS: Comparisons of concussed high school and collegiate athletes with uninjured controls suggested that high school athletes took 1 to 2 days longer to recover on a cognitive (Standardized Assessment of Concussion) measure. Comparisons with the control group on other measures (symptoms, balance) as well as direct comparisons between concussed high school and collegiate samples revealed no differences in the recovery courses between the high school and collegiate groups on any measure. Group-level recovery occurred at or before 7 days postinjury on all assessment metrics.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest no clinically significant age differences exist in recovery after sport-related concussion, and therefore, separate injury-management protocols are not needed for high school and collegiate athletes.
Author List
Nelson LD, Guskiewicz KM, Barr WB, Hammeke TA, Randolph C, Ahn KW, Wang Y, McCrea MAAuthors
Kwang Woo Ahn PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinMichael McCrea PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Lindsay D. Nelson PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Age FactorsAthletic Injuries
Brain Concussion
Cognition
Female
Football
Hockey
Humans
Male
Neuropsychological Tests
Prospective Studies
Racquet Sports
Recovery of Function
Risk Factors
Soccer
Students
Time Factors
