Recovery experiences differed between Black, white athletes after sport-related concussion
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Published results showed recovery and subjective experiences differed between Black and white student athletes after sport-related concussion.
Using the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Registry, researchers collected data on 247 self-reported white and Black student athletes who had been treated for sport-related concussion between 2012 and 2015. Researchers considered days to symptom resolution, days to return to school, and changes in any daily activity and sport behavior as primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included changes in specific activities, such as sleep, schoolwork and television time, as well as changes in equipment or playing style and whether the athlete retired from sport, according to researchers. Researchers also performed descriptive analyses, multivariable Cox proportional hazards models and logistic regression analysis.
Among the 36 Black student athletes and 211 white student athletes included in the study, researchers found more Black athletes were male, more frequently had public insurance and more frequently lived in areas with a low median income compared with white athletes. However, results showed both racial groups of student athletes were similar in age, sport and medical/family histories.
Researchers noted Black athletes reached an asymptomatic status and returned to school earlier compared with white athletes, after adjusting for age, sex, concussion history, insurance status and ZIP code median income. Black athletes were also less likely to report a change in any daily activity, according to results. Researchers found comparable changes in sport behavior between the groups.
Although race may impact navigation of health care spaces, accessibility to physicians, and support resources and experiences with illness and recovery, the authors noted “a vast majority of [sport-related concussion] SRC studies include racially and ethnically homogenous samples, do not report race or report race but do not utilize it as a covariate.” This may present challenges to clinicians on how race may affect risk, recovery and long-term sequelae, according to the researchers. To make future findings more equitable and generalizable to underrepresented populations, the authors recommend “equalizing SRC education and health care resources, recruiting diverse samples and systematically reporting race as well as considering it in analyses.”
“Toward accomplishing these goals, researchers should consider three immediate steps: 1) integrate themselves directly into schools to avoid biasing study cohorts to only those who have access to multidisciplinary concussion clinics or who seek care in the ED, 2) ensure study cohorts contain racial diversity similar to that in their surrounding community, and 3) consider whether race should be included as a covariate during study design and ensure that it is appropriately collected,” the authors wrote.
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