Former college athletes with three or more concussions showed slightly worse physical, mental, behavioral and cognitive health five years after graduation compared to those with no concussions, according to research published in Neurology. The study examined 3,910 former college athletes from 20 sports, with nearly half being female, with a majority participating at NCAA Division 1 schools.
Athletes with three or more concussions had worse scores on tests measuring anxiety, depression, psychological distress, sleep quality and concussion symptoms than those with no concussions. For example, athletes with three or more concussions had an average of five concussion-related symptoms compared to an average of three symptoms for athletes with zero concussions. Those with one or two concussions also fared slightly worse than those with no concussions on tests of psychological distress, quality of life, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, concussion-related symptoms as well as health and well-being.
Study Design and Findings
The study involved baseline evaluations at the time of enrollment, typically before starting college sports, when 77% had never been diagnosed with a concussion. Athletes were evaluated again within five years of college graduation. Researchers grouped participants based on concussion history: 213 athletes reported three or more concussions, 1,203 reported one or two concussions, and 2,494 reported zero. They compared athletes in these groups based on their scores on 11 tests.
According to study author Steven Broglio, PhD, of the University of Michigan Concussion Center: “While the effect sizes of our findings are quite small, the study participants are still young adults in their 20s, so we don’t know if or how these effects might change throughout their lives.” He added: “It is also important to note that despite the associations, the vast majority of athletes remained within normal clinical levels for brain health.” The study was supported by the NCAA and the Department of Defense. A limitation was that 76% of athletes were white people, so results may not apply equally to other races and ethnicities.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.newswise.com/articles/in-former-college-athletes-more-concussions-associated-with-worse-brain-health/?sc=rsmn