Football Players' Perceptions of Future Risk of Concussion and Concussion-Related Health Outcomes

Abstract

Concussion is increasingly recognized as a risk of participation in contact and collision sports. There have been few examinations of athletes' perceptions of their susceptibility to concussion or concussion-related health consequences. We examine college football players' perceptions of their risk of sustaining a concussion and concussion-related health consequences in their future, whether these perceptions change over time, and how concussion history is related to perceived future risk of concussion and concussion-related health consequences. A survey was administered to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Series athletes on 10 teams in 2013 and to nine of those teams in 2014. Athletes answered questions assessing their perceptions of concussion and potential concussion-related health consequences. Approximately 40% of athletes believed there was a strong possibility that they would sustain a concussion in the future, while approximately one-in-four thought a concussion would make them miss a few games. About one-in-10 athletes predicted dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy would develop from concussions. These beliefs were stronger among athletes who had sustained previous concussions. Across the two years studied, athletes' perceptions of the risk of concussion and missing a few games because of concussion decreased significantly. Overall, a substantial proportion of college football players believe they will have long-term health consequences as a result of sustaining sport-related concussions. The true incidence and prevalence of many of these outcomes are unknown. Further research is needed to determine whether athletes have an accurate perception of the risks of these outcomes developing.

Keywords: American football; brain injury; chronic traumatic encephalopathy; concussion; risk.

Conflict of interest statement

Christine M. Baugh is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of Award Number T32MH019733. She has research funded by the Football Players Health Study at Harvard, which is funded by the NFL Players' Association and has previously received research funding from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Dr. Emily Kroshus has research funded by the Football Players Health Study at Harvard, which is funded by the NFL Players' Association. She previously served as a post-doctoral researcher at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Sport Science Institute and currently serves as a consultant there.

Dr. William P. Meehan, III, receives royalties from ABC-Clio publishing for the sale of his book, Kids, Sports, and Concussion: A guide for Coaches and Parents, and royalties from Wolters Kluwer for working as an author for UpToDate. He is under contract with ABC-Clio publishing for a future book entitled, Concussions, and with Springer International publishing for a future book entitled, Head and Neck Injuries in Young Athletes. His research is funded, in part, by a grant from the Football Players Health Study at Harvard, which is funded by the NFL Players' Association, and by philanthropic support from the National Hockey League Alumni Association through the Corey C. Griffin Pro-Am Tournament.

For Patrick Kiernan and David Mendel, no competing financial interests exist.