Recent Trends in Youth Concussions: A Brief Report

OBJECTIVES: Concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries are important medical issues, particularly among youth as the long-term health consequences of these injuries can become increasingly problematic. The purpose of this study was to examine recent trends in diagnosed concussions among pediatric patients in a large health care system. METHODS: This was a retrospective, population-based epidemiology study design that queried all patient files (pediatrics included) using electronic medical health records and further stratified patients based on type of concussion, age, sex, and year from 2013 to 2018. RESULTS: Electronic health records from a cohort of 8 832 419 (n(males) = 4 246 492; n(females) = 4 585 931) patient visits were assessed for concussion diagnosis and filtered for those whose concussive event led to a loss of consciousness (LOC) or not (nLOC). Of these patients, 12 068 were diagnosed with a concussion (LOC = 3 699; nLOC = 8 369) with an overall incidence rate of 1.37 concussions per 1000 patients. Overall, the number of patients diagnosed with a concussion increased by 5063 (LOC = 1351; nLOC = 3712) from 2013 to 2018. Males and females presented with similar rates of concussions 5919 (49.05%) and 6149 concussions (50.95%), respectively. Of total diagnosed concussions, 4972 (LOC = 815; nLOC = 4157) were under the age of 18 and represented 41.2% of all diagnosed concussions with an incidence rate of 6.79 per 1000 patients. CONCLUSION: The number of concussions diagnosed appear to be on the rise with the largest number of concussions being diagnosed in those under the age of 18. Future studies should seek to determine primary causality and the long-term health implications of concussions with or without LOC.