Academic Dysfunction After a Concussion Among US High School and College Students

To determine whether concussed students experience greater academic dysfunction than students who sustain other injuries. We conducted a prospective cohort study from September 2013 through January 2015 involving high school and college students who visited 3 emergency departments in the Rochester,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2016-07, Vol.106 (7), p.1247-1253
Main Authors: Wasserman, Erin B, Bazarian, Jeffrey J, Mapstone, Mark, Block, Robert, van Wijngaarden, Edwin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Adolescent
AJPH Research
Athletes
Athletic Injuries - complications
Brain Concussion - complications
Cognition Disorders - etiology
Cohort analysis
College students
Concussion
Emergency medical care
Epidemiology
Female
Humans
Injuries
Injury/Emergency Care/Violence
Learning
Learning disabilities
Male
Medical records
Memory
Neuropsychological Tests
New York
Prospective Studies
Public health
Secondary school students
Secondary schools
Self report
Sex Distribution
Sports injuries
Students
Students - psychology
Time Factors
Traumatic brain injury
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To determine whether concussed students experience greater academic dysfunction than students who sustain other injuries. We conducted a prospective cohort study from September 2013 through January 2015 involving high school and college students who visited 3 emergency departments in the Rochester, New York, area. Using telephone surveys, we compared self-reported academic dysfunction between 70 students with concussions and a comparison group of 108 students with extremity injuries at 1 week and 1 month after injury. At 1 week after injury, academic dysfunction scores were approximately 16 points higher (b = 16.20; 95% confidence interval = 6.39, 26.00) on a 174-point scale in the concussed group than in the extremity injury group. Although there were no differences overall at 1-month after injury, female students in the concussion group and those with a history of 2 or more prior concussions were more likely to report academic dysfunction. Our results showed academic dysfunction among concussed students, especially female students and those with multiple prior concussions, 1 week after their injury. Such effects appeared to largely resolve after 1 month. Our findings support the need for academic adjustments for concussed students.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303154