Research Says 1 in 5 Teens has Suffered a Concussion
Via Amen Clinics / by Dr. Daniel G. Amen/ I once treated a 42-year-old woman who had failed six alcohol treatment programs. Her impulse control was virtually zero. She could not even be given a prescription for any medication because she would take them all at once. When I initially asked her if she had ever had a brain injury, she said no. But when I pushed her, she remembered that she had been kicked in the head by a horse when she was 10 years old. Her brain SPECT scan showed severe damage to her prefrontal cortex (PFC). When the PFC shows damage, most people are in serious trouble. Without the high thinking, executive functions offered by the PFC, this woman had virtually no “supervisor” in her head.
Brain trauma can cause significant decreased function in a person’s brain. Even though we have seen that brain damage can be reversed to some degree, for the best quality of life, a never-damaged brain is by far the best option.
This is why new research about the average teenager’s risk of concussion is so concerning. The way they treat their brain today has lifelong implications.
Alcohol Use, Marijuana Use, and Playing Sports Increase a Teen’s Risk of Concussion
New research shows that one in five teenagers will suffer a concussion, even if they don’t play sports; and the risk of teen concussions rises dramatically if they drink, smoke pot or play a contact sport.
Until June 2013, published research dealing with teen concussions has only included those who play contact sports, have been diagnosed with a concussion or have been hospitalized for a brain injury. For the first time, researchers have completed a comprehensive study looking at the risk of concussion in the general teenage population, and the findings are surprising.
The study was led by Dr. Gabriela Ilie, a post-doctoral fellow at St. Michael’s Hospital in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Ilie and her colleagues surveyed responses from nearly 9,000 Ontario adolescents to a questionnaire that asked them about traumatic brain injuries they had sustained, as well as about their alcohol use, marijuana use and grades. A traumatic brain injury was defined as a head injury that knocked the teenager out for at least five minutes or resulted in overnight hospitalization.
The study involved students grades 7–12. Here’s what the researchers found:
- Over 20% of teenagers said they had a concussion in their lifetime.
- Nearly 6% said they had suffered at least one concussion in the past year alone.
- 63.5% of teen concussions in boys were related to sports; 46.9% of teen concussions in girls were related to sports.
- Teens who drank alcohol, even if just occasionally, were five times more likely to suffer a concussion in the last year than those teens who didn’t drink alcohol.
- Teens who smoked marijuana more than 10 times in the last year were three times more likely to suffer a concussion in the last year than those teens who didn’t smoke marijuana.
Why are teens who drink and smoke pot more at risk for concussion? It isn’t clear; all this study can offer us is that there is a correlation between alcohol or marijuana abuse and teen concussions. With sports, the causal relationship is more obvious. There is sure to be more research that will look into all these issues as schools and health officials try to define new safety standards to prevent traumatic brain injuries.
The Lasting Effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries and Teen Concussions
In the meantime, consider this: A person doesn’t have to be knocked out or hospitalized to have suffered a concussion. If a concussion or traumatic brain injury in this study was measured as a 5-minute blackout or hospitalization, then 20% is a very conservative figure. It is likely that teenagers sustain a higher rate of traumatic brain injury than this study discovered.
Time and again I have treated people who have suffered from brain injuries they did not think were serious until they saw their SPECT scans. These were often unreported and untreated. These people can suffer from cognitive, mood or even behavioral problems and don’t understand why. They just think they’re messed up. As in the case of the woman who was kicked in the head by a horse, after many questions from me, they’ll remember a childhood knock to the head or a “ringer” they suffered in a sports match. Brain SPECT studies will show decreased blood flow to these previously injured parts of the brain and, depending on the location of the injury, can have dramatic impact on behavior, temperament and cognitive power.
Comments? Have you ever suffered a concussion? If so, how was it handled?
Attributing Article: Amen Clinics