Does the Environment Influence the Frequency of Concussion Incidence in Professional Football?

Abstract

BackgroundSports-related concussion is a major cause of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). It is possible that environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and stadium's altitude, may influence the overall incidence of concussions during a game.PurposeTo examine the impact of environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and dew point, on concussion incidence.MethodsPublic Broadcasting Service (PBS) FRONTLINE Concussion Watch was used to collect injury data on 32 NFL teams during regular season games from 2012 to 2015. Weather data points were collected from Weather Underground. Concussion incidence per game, the probability of a concussion during a game, and a difference in mean game-day temperature, humidity, dew point, and barometric pressure between concussion and concussion-free games were calculated. Our analysis included t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate correlation tests, and logistic and Poisson regression. ResultsOverall, 564 concussions were reported. There were 411 games with concussions and 549 games without concussions. We observed a significant decrease in concussion incidence with increasing temperature, both when the temperature was divided into 20oF increments or into quartiles (p = 0.005 and p = 0.002, respectively). We identified a statistically significant lower mean-game day temperature in concussion games compared to concussion-free games (p < 0.0006). We also observed a significant decrease in the incidence of concussion per game with increasing dew point. There was no significant difference in concussion incidence in barometric pressure and humidity. The logistic regression model predicted a decrease in the probability of a concussion in games with higher temperatures and dew points.ConclusionsNational Football League (NFL) players experienced an increased risk of concussion during football games played in colder temperatures and at lower dew points. Further research on environmental effects on concussions may aid in improving player safety in football leagues.

The Effect of Game Importance on Concussion Incidence in the National Football League: An Observational Study

“…However, in the National Football League (NFL), there are previous reports of no change or a slight decrease in the incidence of some injuries, including concussions, from the third quarter (weeks 8-12) to the fourth quarter of the season (weeks 13-16) [1,6]. This stagnation of concussion incidence in the fourth quarter of the season is inconsistent with the cumulative fatigue hypothesis and cannot be explained by any of the other known modulators of NFL concussion incidence such as the strength of schedule, style of play, altitude, temperature, or dew point [7,8]. A novel modulator is necessary to explain this anomaly.…”

Interaction of surface type, temperature, and week of season on diagnosed concussion risk American football: Bayesian analysis of 8 Seasons of National Football League Data.

“…Examination of four years of NFL data revealed a significant increase in concussion risk during the second half of the season, compared to the first half, 13 and for games played in colder weather. 14 Biological factors, such as a reduced concussion threshold, [15][16][17][18] could explain within-season changes in injury risk. It is also possible that within-season changes in the material properties of the playing surface (e.g., friction and shock absorption) could influence concussion risk.…”

“…Examination of four years of NFL data revealed a significant increase in concussion risk during the second half of the season, compared to the first half, 13 and for games played in colder weather. 14 Due to the timing of the season, which begins in late summer and ends in early January, and the primarily outdoor nature of the sport, these two factors are substantially correlated and should be considered together using methods to disentangle their associations. Surface may also interact with these variables.…”

“…Playing surface, time of season, and game temperature all potentially influence concussion risk in football, but these factors are inter-related and existing analyses do not disentangle their potential confounding effects upon one another. Additionally, many analyses of these factors have divided temperature and week of season into categories, 2,13,14 and it is possible that arbitrary categorization could lead to spurious associations for concussion risk. 25,26 Thus, the objective of this study was to holistically examine how playing surface, game temperature, and week of season influenced concussion risk in NFL games.…”

Fístula Liquórica Espontânea Tratada Com Blood Patch Epidural – Relato De Caso E Revisão De Literatura

“…Contudo, vale salientar que existem fatores que não contribuem para o aumento da incidência de concussões, tais como a quantidade de dias de descanso dos atletas, distância percorrida e tentativas de passe. Ademais, estudos afirmam que jogadores da National Football League (NFL) tem maior risco concussões durante jogos de futebol disputados em temperaturas mais frias (HAIDER, 2018). O histórico de concussões repetitivas relacionados ao esporte podem trazer consequências graves para o atleta, sobretudo para sua saúde mental, posto que foi identificado uma maior predisposição em ex-jogadores de futebol americano de sofrer depressão, distúrbios cognitivos e de desenvolver doenças neurodegenerativas, DeBeliso (2016), também ratificam a associação de concussões e depressão.Por meio da utilização da escala psicométrica Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D), foi verificado que jogadores profissionais ou semi-profissionais de futebol americano que pontuaram mais nesse teste sofreram um maior número de concussões.…”