A Pediatrics study found close to 2 million children under the age of 18 in the United States suffer from concussions each year, The Seattle Times reports.
Lead study author Mersine A. Bryan, MD, a pediatric research fellow at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle and the Seattle Children's Research Institute, and colleagues analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, MarketScan and the National High School Sports Related Injury Surveillance system.
Here are four points:
1. The researchers found between 1.1 million children and 1.9 million children suffer concussions each year from sports or recreational activities.
2. The researchers also found between 512,000 concussions to 1.2 million concussions are underreported.
3. Before this study, a 1991 Health Interview Survey served as the most accurate estimation on concussion numbers in the United States each year. That survey found between 1.6 million and 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries occurred each year, but that number included adults.
4. According to the National Council of Youth Sports, more than 44 million children and adolescents participate in sports each year.