title: Athletes' age, sex, and years of education moderate the acute neuropsychological impact of sports-related concussion: a meta-analysis.
abstract: The objective of this study is to determine which pre-existing athlete characteristics, if any, are associated with greater deficits in functioning following sports-related concussion, after controlling for factors previously shown to moderate this effect (e.g., time since injury). Ninety-one independent samples of concussion were included in a fixed+systematic effects meta-analysis (n = 3,801 concussed athletes; 5,631 controls). Moderating variables were assessed using analogue-to-ANOVA and meta-regression analyses. Post-injury assessments first conducted 1-10 days following sports-related concussion revealed significant neuropsychological dysfunction, postural instability and post-concussion symptom reporting (d = -0.54, -1.10, and -1.14, respectively). During this interval, females (d = -0.87), adolescent athletes competing in high school competitions (d = -0.60), and those with 10 years of education (d = -1.32) demonstrated larger post-concussion neuropsychological deficits than males (d = -0.42), adults (d = -0.25), athletes competing at other levels of competition (d = -0.43 to -0.41), or those with 16 years of education (d = -0.15), respectively. However, these sub-groups' differential impairment/recovery beyond 10 days could not be reliably quantified from available literature. Pre-existing athlete characteristics, particularly age, sex and education, were demonstrated to be significant modifiers of neuropsychological outcomes within 10 days of a sports-related concussion. Implications for return-to-play decision-making and future research directions are discussed.
authors: School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Brooke K
authors: BK
authors: Dougan
authors: School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Mark S
authors: MS
authors: Horswill
authors: School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Gina M
authors: GM
authors: Geffen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology*; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D038223:Post-Concussion Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult