Evaluating the Association Between Sociodemographic and Health Variables With Baseline Concussion Testing in Young Athletes.

Background

Baseline concussion testing can be helpful to perform when providing concussion care for young athletes. To appropriately interpret these data, it is important to understand how certain factors may affect concussion testing.

Purpose

To examine the relationship of sociodemographic and health variables with baseline concussion testing in young athletes.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods

High school and middle school athletes competing in sports or positions at high risk for concussion (football, soccer, ice hockey, wrestling, lacrosse, and pitchers/catchers in baseball/softball) during the 2020-2021 or 2021-2022 academic years completed annual baseline concussion testing and were included in the study. Baseline data included self-reported demographic and medical information, a graded symptom checklist, the Standardized Assessment of Concussion, and the King-Devick test. A validated measure, HOUSES (HOUsing-based index of SocioEconomic Status), was used to determine participants' socioeconomic status (SES) by linking personal address information to publicly available property data. Multivariable linear regression models were fit to analyze the relationship of concussion baseline testing to sociodemographic and health variables.

Results

Among the eligible 2747 athletes (mean age, 15.4 ± 1.5 years; 73.6% male), the mean Standardized Assessment of Concussion score was 26.7 ± 2.0 and the mean best King-Devick test time was 50.3 ± 10.1 seconds. Higher baseline symptom severity scores were related to lower SES (

Conclusion

Baseline concussion testing was found to be associated with certain sociodemographic variables and underlying health conditions in high school and middle school athletes.

Informations de copyright

© The Author(s) 2023.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest in the authorship and publication of this contribution. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from Mayo Clinic (reference No. PR17-006025-05).