A new study published August 2022 in the British Medical Journal discovered concussions are linked to poor high school academic standing. Researchers from the University of Washington (UW) Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC) used data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine the association between concussion history and self-reported academic standing among high school students.
Researchers included over 10,700 records in the study; about 15% of students reported at least one concussion within the past 12 months. Students who had at least one concussion were at a 25% higher risk of poor academic standing compared to those with no concussion history, and students with two or more concussions were at a 50% higher risk of poor academic standing. Poor academic standing was defined as grades consisting mainly of C’s, D’s, or F’s.
The study found approximately one in seven high school students reported to have at least one sports and activity related concussion in the past 12 months. Having a history of concussions in the past 12 months was significantly associated with a higher risk of poor academic standing during the same period, especially for repeated concussions, and the association varied by race/ethnicity.
Funding for this study was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Grant number: R49CE003087-03).