Abstract
ObjectiveTo evaluate the awareness of concussion-related symptoms amongst members of the sports community in Canada.MethodsA cross-sectional national electronic survey was conducted. Youth athletes, parents, coaches and medical professionals across Canada were recruited through mailing lists from sports-related opt-in marketing databases. Participants were asked to identify, from a list of options, the symptoms of a concussion. The proportion of identified symptoms (categorized as physical, cognitive, mental health-related and overall) as well as participant factors associated with symptom recognition were analyzed.ResultsThe survey elicited 6,937 responses. Most of the respondents (92.1%) completed the English language survey, were male (57.7%), 35–54 years of age (61.7%), with post-secondary education (58.2%), or high reported yearly household income (>$80,000; 53.0%). There were respondents from all provinces and territories with the majority of respondents from Ontario (35.2%) or British Columbia (19.1%). While participants identified most of the physical (mean = 84.2% of symptoms) and cognitive (mean = 91.2% of symptoms), they on average only identified 53.5% of the mental health-related symptoms of concussions. Respondents who were older, with higher education and household income, or resided in the Northwest Territories or Alberta identified significantly more of the mental health-related symptoms listed.InterpretationWhile Canadian youth athletes, parents, coaches and medical professionals are able to identify most of the physical and cognitive symptoms associated with concussion, identification of mental health-related symptoms of concussion is still lagging.
Highlights
Concussions occur at least 1.75 million times a year in North America and account for approximately 75% of all traumatic brain injuries (TBI) [1,2,3]
While Canadian youth athletes, parents, coaches and medical professionals are able to identify most of the physical and cognitive symptoms associated with concussion, identification of mental health-related symptoms of concussion is still lagging
Studies have indicated that 22–36% of patients report three or more of such posttraumatic symptoms at 6 months post mild TBI [13] with about 23% not being recovered by 1 year post-injury [14]
Summary
Concussions occur at least 1.75 million times a year in North America and account for approximately 75% of all traumatic brain injuries (TBI) [1,2,3]. In North America more than a half million youth under the age of 15 who sustain a concussion require hospital-based care each year [4]. This is problematic for young people because of the potential cumulative or long term deleterious effects of concussion [5,6,7,8,9,10]. Studies have indicated that 22–36% of patients report three or more of such posttraumatic symptoms at 6 months post mild TBI [13] with about 23% not being recovered by 1 year post-injury [14]
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