20% of Teens Report Having Had a Concussion

Close to one in five teens have been diagnosed with a concussion, according to a new study looking at the prevalence of concussions among young people. In the report, researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed over 13,000 U.S. students in grades 8, 10, and 12 and asked them, “have you ever had a head injury that was diagnosed as a concussion?” The researchers found that nearly 20% of adolescents said they had been diagnosed with at least one concussion and 5.5% said they had been diagnosed with more than one. The report is one of the first to survey teens about whether they’ve had a concussion. Prior studies have largely looked at emergency room data, say the study authors. The research is published in the journal JAMA. “There needs to be more attention to this topic,” says study author Phil Veliz, an assistant research professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender. “Concussions are quite common especially among adolescents. It needs to be tracked and monitored.” MORE: New Study Links Playing Youth Football to Later Brain Damage Those most likely to have a concussion were males in older grades who said they took part in competitive sports. While the study did not determine how the kids got their concussions, the authors report that about a third of teens participating in contact sports had been diagnosed with a concussion at some point. “Parents and coaches are the people ...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized brain injury Concussion contact sports CTE Teens Source Type: news