ADHD and Learning Disorders increase odds of concussion risk in collegiate athletes

By Conor Gormally. This article was initially published in our Concussion Update newsletter; please consider subscribing.

Researchers utilized NCAA-DOD CARE Consortium data to investigate whether the presence of ADHD or learning disability (LD) increased the odds that NCAA athletes would report a history of concussion or sustain a concussion after enrolling in the CARE Consortium study. The CARE Consortium is the “largest prospective concussion study ever conducted,” according to the study’s website, enrolling over 37,000 Military Service Academy cadets and NCAA athletes to track and evaluate concussions as they happen. Brett S Gunn et al. found that athletes with ADHD and LD had higher rates of a history of concussions and sustaining a new concussion. 

The study, published in Journal of Neurotrauma, used CARE data from 2014-2017 to evaluate the relationship between ADHD, LD, concussion history, and concussion after enrollment. 

Athletes who self-reported a diagnosis of ADHD, LD, or ADHD+LD were 1.53 to 1.83 times more likely to report a single prior concussion and 1.85 to 2.37 times more likely to report multiple prior concussions upon enrollment when compared to control athletes, regardless of sex. During the course of their enrollment in CARE, male athletes with ADHD, LD, or ADHD+LD showed 1.37 to 2.24 times greater risk of suffering a concussion than controls, regardless of concussion history. The authors argue that “these results suggest [neurological disorders] may be associated with increased odds of single and multiple concussions, irrespective of sex. 

As research in this area progresses, Concussion Alliance suggests that parents and clinicians should be aware that ADHD and LD may contribute to an increased risk of concussion in young athletes – despite this study’s focus on collegiate young adults.