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Female high school athletes who are more specialized are five times more likely to have a history of concussion
A study found that female high school athletes who were highly specialized in their athletic pursuits were five times more likely to have a history of concussion compared to female high school athletes who were less specialized in their athletic pursuits.
College athletes and service academy cadets with non-sports-related concussions have worse outcomes, more days lost to injury
A study found that college athletes who sustained non-sports-related concussions reported their injury at lower rates, had higher symptom severity, and had longer-lasting symptoms than those who has sports-related concussions.
Sex, race, psychiatric history, intracranial injury associated with increased prevalence of insomnia after a TBI
A study found that female biological sex, Black race, history of psychiatric illness, or intracranial injury were associated with a higher severity level of insomnia symptoms post-TBI.
Children with assault-related concussion have worse outcomes and are less-likely to get proper evaluation than those with sport-related concussion
A study found significant disparities in diagnosis and outcomes between children presenting to a pediatric hospital with assault-related (ARC) and sports-related concussion (SRC).
13.5% of mTBI patients had poor cognitive outcomes; predicting risk, referral to cognitive rehabilitation
According to a study published in Neurology, 13.5% of mTBI patients had “poor cognitive outcomes” (vs. 4.5 % in a control group) one year after a mild traumatic brain injury (concussion).
Combat-related concussion increases odds of long-term disability in Veterans in a prospective 10-year study
Dr. Mac Donald et al. conducted a 10-year prospective study of veterans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to determine the trajectory of disability within this population and identify which subset of the population is most at risk. Their study demonstrated that veterans who sustained a concussion in combat had “very high odds of poor long-term outcome trajectory.”
Former NFL players report Mild Cognitive Impairment, dementia at higher rates than national average for their age
A study investigated the prevalence of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia in former NFL players ages 50+. The authors found significant disparities in the rate of self-reported MCI and dementia diagnoses between the study participants (who had spent at least one year in the NFL) and national incidence estimates. Alarmingly, almost 23% of participants aged 50-60 reported MCI.
Study finds that symptoms persist beyond a year in the majority of concussion patients
A study conducted by Joan Machamer et al. found that over two-thirds of concussion patients report persistent symptoms a year post-injury. At the 12 month evaluation, 50 percent of participants reported at least three symptoms, and 71 percent of participants reported that at least one symptom was new or worse than pre-injury.
High incidence of TBIs in study of houseless and precariously housed persons
A recent study by Tiffany O’Connor et al. explored the incidence of traumatic brain injury among homeless and precariously housed persons. Of the 326 individuals who participated in the study, 100 acquired at least one TBI during the study period (with 31% suffering more than one) – yielding an incidence proportion of 30.7%.