Researchers See Rise In Children's Sports-Related Concussions

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Researchers See Rise In Children's Sports-Related Concussions

* AUGUST 30, 2010, 11:30 A.M. ET

By Corbett Dooren Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow )--The number of concussions suffered by school-age

children appears to be rising even as participation in certain organized team

sports declines, according to a new study published Monday in the journal

Pediatrics.

The study, by researchers at Hasbro Children's Hospital and Brown University,

both in Providence, R.I., is the first national look at concussions in

school-age kids, who may be more vulnerable to long-term complications from such

head injuries than adults.

The study looked at more than 500,000 emergency room visits for concussions in

children ages 8-to-19 from 2001 to 2005 with a focus on concussions caused by

sports injuries.

Of the approximately 502,000 emergency room visits for concussions, more than

252,000 were sports-related, which included individual sports like bicycling and

snow-skiing as well as team sports.

Children ages 8-to-13 had a higher rate of sports-related concussions at 58%

than children ages 14-to-19.

The study's lead author, Bakhos, who is now a pediatric emergency room

doctor at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, N.J., said that

while many studies have been conducted on the impact of concussions among

high-school, college and professional athletes, little is known about

sports-related concussions in school-age children.

" We really don't know what the long-term consequences [of concussions] are in

kids, " Bakhos said. Researchers speculate that concussions in the still growing

brains of young children may produce more severe long-term developmental and

cognitive problems than a similar injury in an adult. A concussion is caused

when the brain is jarred from being hit and temporarily interferes with the way

brain works, affecting things like memory, balance, judgment and even sleep

patterns.

The study also looked at concussions in children and compared them with

participation rates in five organized team sports-- baseball, basketball,

football, ice hockey and soccer--from 1997 to 2007.

During that decade, participation in those sports declined by about 13%, but

concussion-rated emergency room visits related to the same sports rose

substantially during the same time period. ER visits for children ages 8-to-13

doubled from about 3,800 to 7,800, and among children ages 14-to-19, visits

tripled from about 7,000 to 22,000.

Bakhos said researchers don't know if the reasons behind the increase are that

team sports have become more competitive or if it's because of an increase in

reporting rates, or both.

She also noted that the study looks at only ER visits for concussions, and so it

underestimates the actual concussion rate. The National Institutes of Health

estimates there are more than one million concussions annually in both children

and adults.

Bakhos said parents shouldn't shy away from letting their kids participate in

sports, but should make sure they and coaches are following good prevention

strategies such as wearing helmets. While most athletes wear proper helmets and

other protective gear during football games for instance, Bakhos said she's seen

practices conducted without helmets.

Signs of a concussion include headache, nausea and vomiting, but Bakhos said

parents should seek medical attention after a head injury in cases where " your

child just doesn't seem right. "

Indeed, a separate report released Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics

about the management of sports-related concussions said young athletes should

never be allowed to return to play the same day as suffering a concussion even

if their symptoms subside. Some children may need to refrain from sports and

other activities for week or two--or possibly longer-- depending on the severity

of the concussion.

The report said, " The recovery course is longer for younger athletes than for

college and professional athletes, and a more conservative approach to return to

play is warranted. "