Concussions did not impair children's mental abilities
Concussion did not reduce intelligence scores in children. The intelligence quotient (IQ) weeks or months after the injury decreased by a statistically insignificant amount.Researchers from Georgia State University, the University of Utah and the University of Calgary compared intelligence quotients in school-aged children in the U.S. and Canada after concussion and orthopedic injuries. The results of the study are published in the journal Pediatrics.
The authors noted a slight decrease in overall IQ scores (by 0.13 points) and matrix reasoning scores (by 0.16 points) in the concussion group compared to children who had orthopedic injuries. The changes were not statistically significant. No differences were observed in the vocabulary of the patients.
They analyzed data from 866 children aged 8-17 years who were admitted to the emergency departments of seven children's hospitals in the United States and Canada no later than 48 hours after injury. There were 566 children who suffered concussions and 300 who suffered orthopedic injuries. All participants underwent IQ tests and behavioral stereotype adequacy assessments 3-18 days after injury in the U.S. and for three months in Canada.