Recognizing the Symptoms of Mental Illness following Concussions in the Sports Community: A Need for Improvement

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 11; p. e0141699
• Main Authors: Topolovec-Vranic, Jane, Zhang, Stanley, Wong, Hatty, Lam, Emily, Jing, Rowan, Russell, Kelly, Cusimano, Michael D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 04.11.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anxieties; Anxiety; Athletes; Athletic Injuries - pathology; Awareness; Brain Concussion - complications; Brain Concussion - pathology; Brain research; Canada; Cognitive ability; Communities; Complications and side effects; Concussion; Cross-Sectional Studies; Development and progression; Education; English language; Female; Head injuries; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health maintenance organizations; HMOs; Hospitals; Humans; Ice hockey; Income; Knowledge; Life assessment; Male; Medical personnel; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - etiology; Mental health; Mental health care; Middle Aged; Neuropsychology; Neurosurgery; Parents; Patient outcomes; Public health; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Sports; Sports injuries; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Trauma; Traumatic brain injury; Violence; Young Adult; Youth; Canada; North America
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141699

To evaluate the awareness of concussion-related symptoms amongst members of the sports community in Canada. A cross-sectional national electronic survey was conducted. Youth athletes, parents, coaches and medical professionals across Canada were recruited through mailing lists from sports-related opt-in marketing databases. Participants were asked to identify, from a list of options, the symptoms of a concussion. The proportion of identified symptoms (categorized as physical, cognitive, mental health-related and overall) as well as participant factors associated with symptom recognition were analyzed. The survey elicited 6,937 responses. Most of the respondents (92.1%) completed the English language survey, were male (57.7%), 35-54 years of age (61.7%), with post-secondary education (58.2%), or high reported yearly household income (>$80,000; 53.0%). There were respondents from all provinces and territories with the majority of respondents from Ontario (35.2%) or British Columbia (19.1%). While participants identified most of the physical (mean = 84.2% of symptoms) and cognitive (mean = 91.2% of symptoms), they on average only identified 53.5% of the mental health-related symptoms of concussions. Respondents who were older, with higher education and household income, or resided in the Northwest Territories or Alberta identified significantly more of the mental health-related symptoms listed. While Canadian youth athletes, parents, coaches and medical professionals are able to identify most of the physical and cognitive symptoms associated with concussion, identification of mental health-related symptoms of concussion is still lagging.