Can Demographics Predict Which Athletes Continue to Play following a Sport-Related Concussion?

Purpose: Continued play following a sport-related concussion (SRC) can have significant consequences for athletes including prolonged recovery, subsequent concussion or more severe injury. Identifying which athletes are more likely to continue to play could aid education efforts and inform future interventions. The purpose of this study was to determine if demographic variables can predict which athletes continue to play following a SRC. Methods: Data were prospectively collected from subjects enrolled as part of the North Texas Concussion Network Registry (ConTex) between December 2015 and March 2020. Participants between the ages of 14-18 years who were diagnosed with a SRC sustained during an organized sporting event were included. Demographic variables, sport played, and concussion history were compared between the athletes who continued to play (PLAY group) and who did not continue to play (NO PLAY group). Results: A total of 365 subjects were eligible, with a mean age of 15.2 ± 1.1 years. Over half of the cohort (196 subjects, 53.7%) reported continued play (PLAY group). The sports with the highest continued play percentages were cheerleading (12, 70.6%), volleyball (21, 60%), football (59, 58.4%), soccer (44, 50.6%), and basketball (25, 48.1%). Within the subjects who reported a prior history of concussion(s), 61 (56.5%) were in the PLAY group and 47 (43.5%) in the NO PLAY group. Chi-square tests of independence showed no significant association between continued play and the independent variables of age, sex, race, ethnicity, insurance type, sport played, or concussion history. Table 1 summarizes these findings. Conclusion: Within this adolescent cohort, more than half of athletes continued to play following a SRC, but there was no significant association between continued play and demographic variables or type of sport played. Education efforts, future policies and interventions should focus on all athletes and sport types, as continued play following a SRC is prevalent among adolescent athletes, not just in those traditionally seen in high contact sports, such as football, soccer, and basketball.