Risk and recovery among high school athletes who sustained at least one sports-related concussion.

Aim: Evidence of factors explaining sports-related concussion (SRC) risk and recovery among high school athletes remains inconclusive.
Materials & Methods: Prospective study of a real-world sample of high school athletes (n = 77) who sustained ≤1 SRC. Among those with multiple SRCs, recovery time between events was investigated. To investigate concussion risk, baseline characteristics of athletes with a single versus multiple SRC(s) were compared.
Results: Recovery time did not differ across events. There were no differences between those with a single versus multiple SRCs.
Conclusion: Recovery time between initial and subsequent concussive events did not differ, suggesting that prior concussion may not prolong recovery. Baseline characteristics did not explain heightened concussion risk. Investigation of these relationships using more representative samples is needed.
Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure LA Brenner consults for professional sports leagues. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by Department of Veterans Affairs.This project was supported by the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Physical Medicine and the VHA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center. The parent study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, R49 CE000394-03. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
(© 2020 Kinney, Anderson, Stearns-Yoder, Brenner & Forster.)