One in five Ontario students report serious brain injury: study
Posted June 25, 2013 8:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – One in five middle and high school students in Ontario report they have suffered at least one head injury that knocked them unconscious for more than five minutes or required overnight hospitalization, according to a new study.
The authors of the study say that suggests traumatic head injuries are far more prevalent among youth than previous statistics indicated. This is likely because many incidents go unreported, the authors say.
“This statistic is higher than what we previously thought. We asked our participants how did they incur this injury and what they told us is that by in large, this injury occurred while being engaged in sports,” said study co-author Gabriela Ilie who is a neuropsychologist.
The paper, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, looks at the prevalence of such injuries among the province’s public school students in Grades 7 through 12, as well as the circumstances surrounding them.
Researchers at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital analyzed data from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s 2011 survey on drug use and health, which was filled out by close to 9,000 Ontario students aged 11 to 20.
According to the study, roughly five per cent of students reported having a traumatic brain injury in the past year — and 56 per cent of those cases were sports-related.
Researchers also found a link with alcohol and cannabis, with frequent users showing “significantly higher odds” of a head injury in the past year versus their peers who do not.
The study found that boys were more likely than girls to report having experienced a head injury in the past year — 6.9 per cent compared with 4.3 per cent.
“Males reported more traumatic brain injuries than females. By in large, this injury occurred while being engaged in sports,” Ilie said.
Ilie said more research is needed to examine the long-term outcomes of head injuries and possible links with other drugs, including prescription medicines.
She is hoping that by knowing who is more vulnerable, health care workers can prevent the occurrence of injury through awareness and education.
