Study finds that over one third of ER patients with sports-related concussions in the last 20 years were teen female athletes
A study conducted by Kevin Pirruccio et al. and published in Research in Sports Medicine claims to be “the first to describe the epidemiology of both SRCs (sports-related concussion) and closed head injuries (CHIs) in female athletes at the national level.” A closed head injury is a type of traumatic brain injury which occurs without damage to the skull. As mentioned in a PR Newswire article, Pirruccio et al.’s “findings show a dramatic increase — more than 200% — in sports-related head injuries among female athletes ages 14-18” between 2000-2019.
Moreover, the study also found that adolescent women who play soccer, basketball, cheerleading, softball, and volleyball are the most likely to be admitted to the emergency room (ER) with a concussion or traumatic brain injury.
Researchers investigated female patients aged 14-18 who suffered from “closed head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and concussions” due to recreational or sports-related activities using the national ER database. The study defined recreational sports as sports-related activities outside of school (such as horseback riding, non-varsity athletics, etc.). Specifically, the study found that over a third of the patients admitted to emergency rooms across the US with SRCs or CHIs between 2000-2019 were female athletes aged 14-18 years.
The study also found that higher participation leads to more concussions for soccer and volleyball. However, this exact correlation is not valid for other sports (basketball, cheerleading, and softball). This difference in correlation suggests that variables other than participation rate, such as increased reporting, have influenced the increase in SRC and CHI in young female patients over the last 20 years.
It is also important to note that this study used a small sample of patients admitted to the ER. Hence, it does not account for patients diagnosed with a concussion in other healthcare settings. The selected patients also had to be diagnosed with a CHI, so it does not consider those who had concussion symptoms but remained undiagnosed.
Therefore, the study likely underestimates the number of young female athletes who suffer from concussions. Thus, further research could help determine a more accurate representation of SRCs and CHIs in female athletes.