Capitol News

Researchers at Michigan State University’s Department of Kinesiology have identified significant geographic variations in concussion diagnoses across United States emergency departments, with the highest rates observed in the South and lower rates in the Midwest and Northeast.

The study, published by the Journal of Safety Research, analyzed a public database of emergency department visits from 2010 to 2018. It focused on sport-related concussions (SRC) and nonsport-related concussions (NSRC). The researchers from MSU’s College of Education and the University of Pittsburgh found that over 1,150 emergency department visits were due to concussions, equating to more than 7 million visits nationwide based on their probability sampling method.

Regarding regional differences, the South exhibited the highest frequency of concussion diagnoses in emergency departments. This could be attributed to its high population density. Additionally, regional differences in healthcare utilization might contribute to higher reported concussions in the South and lower odds of diagnosed concussions in the Midwest and Northeast.

“Our findings highlight not only the disparities in concussion diagnoses across different regions but also emphasize the need for tailored public health strategies to address these variations effectively,” said Aaron Zynda, the study’s first author and a Department of Kinesiology Doctoral Program graduate. “There are several factors we couldn’t examine in this study, but our findings give us new ideas to explore further and understand why these results are happening.”

Health care access is a key factor related to concussions and diagnosis. “Where are people going to get treated for a concussion?” said MSU Assistant Professor Alyssa Pollard-McGrandy, who also graduated from the Kinesiology Doctoral Program. “Depending on where you are and what you do for a job and what type of insurance you have — these factors and care-seeking behaviors all come into play.”

Another critical finding is that 94.3% of concussions were caused by nonsport-related mechanisms such as motor vehicle accidents and falls. According to Zynda, there is a need for additional research and broader awareness efforts beyond sports contexts since NSRCs impact a significantly larger portion of the population.

The researchers suggest that while legislation over the past decade has focused on managing SRCs, similar policy attention is needed for NSRCs due to their higher occurrence rate. This would enhance prevention and treatment efforts.

Further details can be found on MSU's College of Education website along with a full listing of Spartan researchers involved in this study.