Brain Injury, Chronic

SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) examined the impact of a policy implemented by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to address youth players heading the soccer ball. Researchers found that the policy was associated with a decrease in soccer-related concussions; however, female players experienced a higher proportion of concussions than their male counterparts. Continue Reading Female football players jumping and heading ball during match. Soccer is one of the most popular youth sports in the United States and worldwide, and it's estimated that 3.9 million children play organized soccer in the U.S. each year.i,ii The incidence of concussions in youth soccer is estimated to be 0.19 to 0.28 per 1,000 athletic-exposuresiii or 0.5 concussions per 1,000 playing hours.iv Soccer-related concussion injury mechanisms include accidental contact with another player or field equipment, such as a goal post or the field, and intentional contact between the head and the ball in a technique called a header. Because of growing concerns regarding repeated head trauma, in 2016, the USSF banned headers for athletes under the age of 10 and limited athletes aged 11 to 13 to practicing headers for 30 minutes per week. "We wanted to assess the impact of this policy on our patients," said Eugenia Lin, MD, resident at Mayo Clinic Arizona. "While policies are important, we don't always have the data to determine the effectiveness. This study aimed to analyze the long-term implications of the policy across different age groups, especially in light of growing concerns about traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive brain disease linked to repeated head injuries, in contact sports like football." "Pediatric Concussion Injuries in Soccer: Emergency Department Trends in the United States from 2012 to 2023" is an epidemiological analysis utilizing data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) to analyze trends in soccer-related injuries relative to other injuries from soccer. The research team identified a 25.6% relative risk reduction in soccer-related concussions as a percentage of all soccer-related injuries presenting to the emergency department between 2020 to 2023 compared to 2012 to 2015. Further breakdown of the data revealed distinct concussion trends pre- and post-policy implementation periods and concussion trends from 2012 to 2023 based on age and gender, providing insight into the policy's differential impact across demographic subgroups. Highlights include: Concussions according to time frame Prior to the policy being enacted, there was an 8% proportion of concussions from 2012 to 2015. From 2020 to 2023, the proportion of concussions in relation to other injuries decreased to 6%, noting a relative risk reduction between time periods. Concussions according to age Soccer-related injuries and concussions were stratified by three age cohorts from 2012 to 2023 and data demonstrated an increase in soccer-related injuries and concussions as players got older. There were 8,793 total soccer-related injuries and 431 concussions (4.9%) in players 6- to 9-years-old. A total of 23,275 soccer-related injuries were reported in players 10- to 13-years-old, of which 1,527 were concussions (6.6%). A total of 26,907 soccer-related injuries were reported in players 14- to 17-years-old, of which 2,397 were concussions (8.9%). Concussions according to gender Female players experienced fewer overall soccer-related injuries than male players, but a greater proportion of their injuries were concussions. Female players presented to the emergency department for 21,040 soccer-related injuries between 2012 and 2023, of which 2,010 were concussions (9.6%). Male players were seen for 37,935 soccer-related injuries, of which 2,345 were concussions (6.2%). The proportion of concussion diagnoses for both male and female players was lowest in 2023, at 4.3% and 7.8%, respectively. The highest annual proportion of concussion diagnoses was 8.4% for male players and 10.5% for female players, both in 2012. "Although not all concussions result from headers, a measurable percentage still do, and it is encouraging to observe a trend indicating a decline in concussion rates," said Anikar Chhabra, MD, MS, FAAOS, senior author, associate professor and director of Sports Medicine at Mayo Clinic Arizona. "While we cannot attribute this reduction solely to policy changes, these data suggest that these regulations may positively impact different age groups and time periods. Now that physicians, athletic trainers, coaches and parents understand the long-term implications of concussions, it is crucial to continue refining and reinforcing evidence-based policies that prioritize player safety and injury prevention." 2025 AAOS Annual Meeting Disclosure Statement About the AAOS With more than 39,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is the world's largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. The AAOS is the trusted leader in advancing musculoskeletal health. It provides the highest quality, most comprehensive education to help orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals at every career level to best treat patients in their daily practices. AAOS is the source for information on bone and joint conditions, treatments and related musculoskeletal healthcare issues; and it leads the healthcare discussion on advancing quality. Follow the AAOS on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram. For more information, contact: i Hulteen RM, Smith JJ, Morgan PJ, et al. Global participation in sport and leisure-time physical activities: a systematic review and meta- analysis. Prev Med. 2017;95:14-2 ii Watson A, Mjaanes JM; Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness. Soccer injuries in children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2019;144(5): e20192759. iii Pfister T, Pfister K, Hagel B, Ghali WA, Ronksley PE. The incidence of concussion in youth sports: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(5):292-297. iv Mooney J, Self M, ReFaey K, et al. Concussion in soccer: a comprehensive review of the literature. Concussion. 2020;5(3):CNC76. SOURCE American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

THURSDAY, Dec. 5, 2024. Hockey players’ chances of developing concussion-related brain injury increase with every year they spend on the ice, a new study finds. The odds of having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) increase among hockey players 34% for each year played, researchers reported Dec. 4 in JAMA Network Open . Results show 18 out of 19 National Hockey League players had CTE , a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated concussions, researchers found. However, CTE wasn’t found in a single hockey player who spent fewer than six years competing, researchers report. “Ice hockey players with longer careers not only were more likely to have CTE, but they also had more severe disease,” said researcher Dr. Jesse Mez , co-director of clinical research at the Boston University CTE Center. “We hope this data will help inspire changes to make the game safer as well as help former ice hockey players impacted by CTE get the care they need,” Mez added in a university news release. For the study, they studied the donated brains of 77 deceased male ice hockey players. They also tracked each player’s career, to see how their amateur or professional play might have affected their brain health. They found that 96% (27 of 28) pro hockey players had CTE brain damage. By comparison, only 46% of college and semi-pro players (13 of 28) had CTE, and just 10% of youth and high school players (2 of 21). Interestingly, they found that enforcers did not have a statistically significant higher risk of CTE than other players after accounting for years of play, even though enforcers are meant to engage in more physical and violent play during hockey games. “Enforcers have dominated the CTE conversation, but our findings provide the most evidence for the cumulative amount of play as the predominant risk factor for CTE,” Mez said. “The takeaway here is that non-enforcers are getting CTE as well. Ice hockey players skate quickly, and checking leads to impacts with other players, the ice, boards and glass,” Mez added. “We think years of play is a proxy for these impacts that are harder to measure directly, but are likely what are leading to the disease.” Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

MONDAY, Dec. 2, 2024 -- Concussion -related brain damage can combine with a family history of mental illness to make some athletes and military personnel prone to aggression and violence in middle age, a new study says. People with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are at higher risk of mood changes and dementia, but this study shows that aggression is another risk posed by the condition. “This appears to be a case where together these risk factors add up to a greater risk for aggression than they each do on their own, where people with CTE and a family history of mental illness are much more likely to have aggressive behavior than those with just CTE or just the family history,” researcher Dr. Jesse Mez , an associate professor of neurology with the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, said in a news release. Some individual cases have already highlighted the potential link between CTE and violence. For example, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in jail at age 27 following his conviction for the murder of a friend. Autopsy of his brain revealed it was riddled with CTE damage, particularly in regions associated with decision-making and judgment. In this study, researchers looked at 845 men exposed to repetitive head impacts through contact sports or military service, including 329 who played professional football. All donated their brains to research after death. About 70% had CTE, and 45% had a family history of mental illness, researchers said. The research team interviewed family about each man’s aggressive behavior, and whether any close relatives had ever been diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or any other mood or mental illnesses. Results show that men with CTE and a family history of mental illness were more likely to get into arguments or physical fights with other people. “This relationship was most striking for participants who died between 40 and 59 years old,” Mez said. The association held even after accounting for other risk factors, such as their total years playing contact sports or serving in the military, researchers said. However, people without CTE did not have an increased risk of aggressive behavior, even if they had a family history of mental illness, “The link between a family history of mental illness and aggression may be through a shared genetic background and also through shared environment and common behaviors, such as childhood experiences with family members,” Mez said. “Identifying people who are more likely to show symptoms of aggression based on family history of mental illness would give us a way to predict the consequences of CTE and identify who may benefit most from treatment options,” he added. The new study was published Nov. 27 in the journal Neurology . Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.