Emergency Department Visits for Concussions in Young Athletes

A new study shows a dramatic increase in the number of sports-related concussions for young athletes despite a decrease in team sports participation.

The study, published online by Pediatrics in August 2010, looks at two groups of young athletes: youths aged 8 to 13 and youths aged 14 to 19. It is one of the first studies to tally emergency department visits and concussions for young athletes, and the researchers note that the increasing competitiveness of youth sports warrants this focus on the young athlete. The number of child athletes, aged 8 to 13, with sports-related concussions doubled over the observed period. Among the young athletes aged 14 to 19, emergency room visits for concussions more than tripled over the same period. These increases occurred despite an overall 13 percent decrease in team sports participation.

Concussion-related emergency department visits were analyzed over a 10-year period, from 1997 to 2007. Population data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and sport participation data were obtained from the National Sporting Goods Association.
 

Read the report.