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Abstract
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A 39% decrease in American football-related traumatic brain injuries among children and adolescents helped cut the number of US emergency department (ED) visits for sports- and recreation-related (SRR) traumatic brain injury by one-third between 2012 and 2018.
CDC researchers analyzed National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program data from 2001 to 2018 on ED visits for children with SRR traumatic brain injuries. Injury rates rose during the first decade of the period, peaking at 411 per 100 000 youths aged 17 years or younger in 2012 before declining by 32% to 299 per 100 000 by 2018. Most of the decline was driven by a reduction in American football-related brain injuries: participation in organized youth football programs has declined by 24% since 2010, and tackling and contact restrictions have been implemented to reduce concussion risk. Rates of non-contact sports-related visits for head injuries also declined between 2012 and 2018.
Despite the declines, American football was responsible for the highest rate of ED visits for traumatic brain injuries among children and teens of all contact sports in 2018. Rates of ED visits for traumatic brain injuries among youths playing basketball and soccer remained steady during the study period. In 2018, the rate of basketball-related injuries was 46.6 per 100 000 and the rate of soccer-related injuries was 32.5 per 100 000...
Language: en |