Epidemiology of Concussions in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Sports: 2014/15-2018/19

Abstract

Background:

Updated epidemiology studies examining sports-related concussions (SRCs) are critical in evaluating recent efforts aimed at reducing the incidence of SRCs in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports.

Purpose:

To describe the epidemiology of SRCs in 23 NCAA sports during the 2014/15-2018/19 academic years.

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods:

SRC and exposure data collected in the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program were analyzed. Injury counts, rates, and proportions were used to describe injury characteristics by sport, event type (practices, competitions), injury mechanism (player contact, surface contact, equipment/apparatus contact), and injury history (new, recurrent). Injury rate ratios (IRRs) were used to examine differential injury rates, and injury proportion ratios (IPRs) were used to examine differential distributions.

Results:

A total of 3497 SRCs from 8,474,400 athlete-exposures (AEs) were reported during the study period (4.13 per 10,000 AEs); the competition-related SRC rate was higher than was the practice-related SRC rate (IRR, 4.12; 95% CI, 3.86-4.41). The highest SRC rates were observed in men’s ice hockey (7.35 per 10,000 AEs) and women’s soccer (7.15 per 10,000 AEs); rates in women’s soccer and volleyball increased during 2015/16-2018/19. Player contact was the most prevalently reported mechanism in men’s sports (77.0%), whereas equipment/apparatus contact was the most prevalently reported mechanism in women’s sports (39.2%). Sex-related differences were observed in soccer, basketball, softball/baseball, and swimming and diving. Most SRCs reported in men’s sports (84.3%) and women’s sports (81.1%) were reported as new injuries.

Conclusion:

Given the increasing SRC rates observed in women’s soccer and volleyball during the latter years of the study, these results indicate the need to direct further attention toward trajectories of SRC incidence in these sports. The prevalence of equipment/apparatus contact SRCs in women’s sports also suggests that SRC mechanisms in women’s sports warrant further investigation. As most SRCs during the study period were reported as new injuries, the prevalence of recurrent SRCs in men’s and women’s ice hockey is also noteworthy.