Children who suffer concussions are susceptible to behavioral and emotional symptoms

July 28, 2020, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Concussion or traumatic brain injury is brain damage. It can be mild or severe and can lead to many consequences from a headache to lifelong disability depending on the seriousness of injury. There is no known reason why the same sort of injury can evoke mild symptoms in some and severe in others.

We do know that children and the elderly suffer brain injury more easily and tend to have longer lasting post concussion syndromes. Repeated head trauma will cause more severe brain injury more easily, and is linked to longer lasting symptoms, and poor long term prognosis including Alzheimer disease.

TBI and concussion can have compounding effects on children. A new study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine reports that concussion in children can lead to longterm cognitive, behavioral and emotional health consequences. Until recently it was not clear if concussion caused cognitive, behavioral, and emotional deficits.

“We have previously speculated that children who suffer a concussion have more behavioral problems, so this study was able to provide a more comprehensive analysis on the various cognitive and behavioral health issues that this population faces in connection with this type of brain injury." Gregory Knell, PhD

In America 2.5 million high school students reported at least one sports related concussion in the previous 12 months according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The University of Texas Health researchers (UTHealth) examined the association between reported concussion history and factors relating to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional health among a population-based sample of 13,000 US high school–aged adolescents. The researchers then examined the relevant behaviors and outcomes in three domains:

• Cognitive (academics and contratrtion)
• Behavior (drinking and driving, drug and tobacco and alcohol use, physical fighting, carrying a weapon, binge drinking)
• Emotional (suicidal ideation, depression, suicide attempts)

The data was then modelled and adjusted for the behaviors of interest in addition to age, race, and sleep problems.

The results were interesting. Overall, 14.5% of female and 18.1% of male student-athletes had at least 1 concussion in the past 12 months. As compared with those who reported not engaging in any of the behaviors deleterious to health or having had any of the negative health outcomes female athletes up to 6  times more likely to have a recent history of concussions after accounting for relevant factors. Male athletes with a history of concussion were up to 8 times more likely to have a recent history of concussions after accounting for relevant factors.

The conclusion drawn was that children and teens who have self-reported concussions are more prone to display several deleterious health behaviors and outcomes.

If your child or teen has a concussion be sure to monitor them closely and follow all medical advice.

If your child is injured due to the negligence of someone else contact us for a free consultation on your case.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.