• Anbesaw W Selassie, Dulaney A Wilson, E Elisabeth Pickelsimer, Delia C Voronca, Nolan R Williams, and Jonathan C Edwards.
• Division of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Electronic address: selassie@musc.edu.
• Ann Epidemiol. 2013 Dec 1;23(12):750-6.

PurposeFew studies of sport-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) are population-based or rely on directly observed data on cause, demographic characteristics, and severity. This study addresses the epidemiology of sport-related TBI in a large population.MethodsData on all South Carolina hospital and emergency department encounters for TBI, 1998-2011, were analyzed. Annual incidence rate of sport-related TBI was calculated, and rates were compared across demographic groups. Sport-related TBI severity was modeled as a function of demographic and TBI characteristics using logistic regression.ResultsA total of 16,642 individuals with sport-related TBI yielded an average annual incidence rate of 31.5/100,000 population with a steady increase from 19.7 in 1998 to 45.6 in 2011. The most common mechanisms of sport-related TBI were kicked in football (38.1%), followed by fall injuries in sports (20.3%). Incidence rate was greatest in adolescents ages 12-18 (120.6/100,000/persons). Severe sport-related TBI was strongly associated with off-road vehicular sport (odds ratio [OR], 4.73; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.92-7.67); repeated head trauma (OR, 4.36; 95% CI, 3.69-5.15); equestrian sport (OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.64-4.51); and falls during sport activities (OR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.67-4.46).ConclusionsThe high incidence of sport-related TBI in youth, potential for repetitive mild TBI, and its long-term consequences on learning warrants coordinated surveillance activities and population-based outcome studies.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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