title: Recognizing the Symptoms of Mental Illness following Concussions in the Sports Community: A Need for Improvement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the awareness of concussion-related symptoms amongst members of the sports community in Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional national electronic survey was conducted. Youth athletes, parents, coaches and medical professionals across Canada were recruited through mailing lists from sports-related opt-in marketing databases. Participants were asked to identify, from a list of options, the symptoms of a concussion. The proportion of identified symptoms (categorized as physical, cognitive, mental health-related and overall) as well as participant factors associated with symptom recognition were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The survey elicited 6,937 responses. Most of the respondents (92.1%) completed the English language survey, were male (57.7%), 35-54 years of age (61.7%), with post-secondary education (58.2%), or high reported yearly household income (>$80,000; 53.0%). There were respondents from all provinces and territories with the majority of respondents from Ontario (35.2%) or British Columbia (19.1%). While participants identified most of the physical (mean = 84.2% of symptoms) and cognitive (mean = 91.2% of symptoms), they on average only identified 53.5% of the mental health-related symptoms of concussions. Respondents who were older, with higher education and household income, or resided in the Northwest Territories or Alberta identified significantly more of the mental health-related symptoms listed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While Canadian youth athletes, parents, coaches and medical professionals are able to identify most of the physical and cognitive symptoms associated with concussion, identification of mental health-related symptoms of concussion is still lagging.
authors.affiliation: Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and Trauma and Neurosurgery Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.|Faculty of Medicine (Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Topolovec-Vranic
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Hatty
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Rowan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and Trauma and Neurosurgery Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.|Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.|Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cusimano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D001364:Awareness; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D002170:Canada; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013177:Sports; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult