Study affirms concussion dangers to young athletes

Topdawg13 · Jun 20, 2011

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The study, published Monday in Pediatrics, dug into the National Registry of Sudden Death in Young Athletes, a database maintained by the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, to focus on deaths from blunt trauma among players 21 and younger. Previous studies from the data focused on deaths from cardiovascular problems.

A key finding, author Dr. Barry Maron said in an interview, was a worrisome number of prep football players who died of head and neck blows after they had already sustained concussions a few days to four weeks beforehand. Maron said it comes at a time of growing awareness about concussions, including the dangers of "second-impact syndrome."

The registry listed 1,827 sudden deaths among young athletes from 1980-2009. Fourteen percent of them, or 261, were caused by trauma-related injuries. Trauma fatalities were most frequent in football at 148, including 17 high school players who died of head or neck injuries after they had already sustained concussions a few days to four weeks beforehand.

In general, the authors wrote, trauma deaths among young athletes are relatively uncommon, and they're four times less common than cardiovascular deaths. The average has remained relatively constant around nine per year. "Nevertheless, these catastrophic events remain an important public health issue with a devastating effect on families, communities, and physicians," the study said.

The study said most of the deaths were preventable and showed the importance of better equipment, better protocols for when injured athletes should return to action, and possible changes in blocking and tackling rules.
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