The number of sport-related concussions is highest in high-school aged athletes, but the number in younger athletes is significant and on the rise. In the study, "Emergency Department Visits for Concussion in Young Child Athletes," in the September 2010 issue of Pediatrics, (published online August 30), concussion-related emergency department (ED) visits were analyzed for patients between the ages of 8 and 19 years from 1997 to 2007. From 2001 to 2005, U.S. children aged 8 to 19 years had an estimated 502,000 ED visits for concussion. Approximately half of all ED visits were sport-related concussions, and the 8- to 13-year-old age group accounted for 40 percent of these.
ED visits for concussions in organized team sports were highest in ice hockey and football, and the most ED visits for concussion in individual and recreation sports were in snow skiing, bicycling, and playground activities.
Although organized team sport participation declined from 1997 to 2007, ED visits for concussions in 8- to 13-year-olds doubled, and they more than doubled in the 14- to 19-year-old group.
Study authors suggest that additional research and injury prevention strategies are needed in order to protect young athletes.
Healthy Children Radio: Emergency Department Visits for Concussion
Lisa Bakhos, MD, discusses her study on emergency visits for concussion in an interview on the Healthy Children Radio Show.
Segment 1: Emergency Department Visits for Concussion in Young Child Athletes
