Results of a 10-year retrospective study from Canada show an increased association of concussion in children and youth with mental health problems and increased risk for psychiatric hospitalization and self-harm compared to those who suffered an orthopedic injury.¹

Children aged 5-18 years with concussion or orthopedic injury sustained between April 2010 through to March 2020 were enrolled to study association between concussion and mental health problems. The study groups included 152,321 children and youths with concussion and 296,482 children and youths with orthopedic injury. “Participants had no previous mental health visit in the year before the index event for cohort entry and no prior concussion or traumatic brain injury 5 years before the index visit”. Mental health problems were taken as the primary outcome, while hospitalizations for psychiatric problems, self-harm health care visits and death by suicide were considered as the secondary outcomes.

Results reported in JAMA Network Open, the incidence rate of any mental health problem was 11,141 per 100,000 person-years in the participants with concussion compared to 7960 per 100,000 person-years in those with orthopedic injury. Those who had a concussion were at a higher risk of developing a mental health problems with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.39, self-harm (aHR 1.49) and psychiatric hospitalization (aHR 1.47) post-concussion. Death by suicide was comparable between the two groups.

This study has documented increased risk of mental health issues, psychiatric hospitalization, and self-harm in children and youth following concussion. Hence, these patients should be screened for mental health problems on follow-up visits.

Reference

1. Ledoux AA, et al. Risk of Mental Health Problems in Children and Youths Following Concussion. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Mar 7;5(3):e221235. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.1235.