title: Mild traumatic brain injury among a cohort of rugby union players: predictors of time to injury.
abstract: This study reports the time to sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) among a cohort of community rugby union players. Demographic and player characteristics were collected and players followed up for between one and three playing seasons. 7% of the cohort sustained an mTBI within 10 h of game time, increasing twofold to 14% within 20 h. The mean time to first mTBI was 8 h with an SD of 6.2 (median 6.8 h; IQR: 2.9-11.7 h). Players reporting a recent history of concussion were 20% more likely to sustain an mTBI after 20 h of game time compared with those with no recent history of concussion. Players were likely to sustain an mTBI in shorter time if they trained for <3 h/week (HR=1.48, p=0.03) or had a body mass index <27 (HR=1.77, p=0.007). The findings highlight modifiable characteristics to reduce the likelihood of shortened time to mTBI.
authors.affiliation: The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia shollis@georgeinstitute.org.au
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hollis
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Stephane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heritier
authors.forename: E Arthur
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Shores
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Caroline F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Finch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000453:epidemiology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult