Concussion Counts and Rates Among High School Athletes in 20 Sports During the 2013–2014 to 2017–2018 Academic Years
| Sport . | No. Concussions . | No. AEs . | Rates per 10 000 AEsa . | Competition Versus Practice Rate Ratio (95% CI) . | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competition . | Practice . | Overall . | Competition . | Practice . | Overall . | Competition . | Practice . | Overall . | ||
| Boys-only sports | ||||||||||
| Football | 2521 | 1662 | 4183 | 703 784 | 3 319 623 | 4 023 407 | 35.82 | 5.01 | 10.40 | 7.15 (6.73 to 7.61)b |
| Ice hockey | 187 | 21 | 208 | 95 854 | 174 769 | 270 623 | 19.51 | 1.20 | 7.69 | 16.24 (10.34 to 25.49)b |
| Lacrosse | 256 | 67 | 323 | 196 296 | 460 069 | 656 365 | 13.04 | 1.46 | 4.92 | 8.96 (6.84 to 11.72)b |
| Wrestling | 292 | 273 | 565 | 294 452 | 874 227 | 1 168 679 | 9.92 | 3.12 | 4.83 | 3.18 (2.69 to 3.75)b |
| Soccer | 421 | 107 | 528 | 450 768 | 1 029 898 | 1 480 666 | 9.34 | 1.04 | 3.57 | 8.99 (7.27 to 11.11)b |
| Basketball | 224 | 152 | 376 | 544 463 | 1 225 492 | 1 769 955 | 4.11 | 1.24 | 2.12 | 3.32 (2.70 to 4.08)b |
| Baseball | 96 | 40 | 136 | 461 197 | 851 518 | 1 312 715 | 2.08 | 0.47 | 1.04 | 4.43 (3.06 to 6.41)b |
| Swimming | 4 | 14 | 18 | 88 029 | 396 751 | 484 780 | 0.45 | 0.35 | 0.37 | 1.29 (0.42 to 3.91) |
| Track and field | 11 | 14 | 25 | 273 956 | 1 173 477 | 1 447 433 | 0.40 | 0.12 | 0.17 | 3.37 (1.53 to 7.41)b |
| Cross country | 0 | 4 | 4 | 119 026 | 595 291 | 714 317 | 0.00 | 0.07 | 0.06 | N/A |
| Girls-only sports | ||||||||||
| Soccer | 864 | 191 | 1055 | 396 309 | 891 423 | 1 287 732 | 21.80 | 2.14 | 8.19 | 10.17 (8.70 to 11.90)b |
| Basketball | 504 | 142 | 646 | 416 477 | 916 289 | 1 332 766 | 12.10 | 1.55 | 4.85 | 7.81 (6.48 to 9.41)b |
| Lacrosse | 152 | 57 | 209 | 151 826 | 343 593 | 495 419 | 10.01 | 1.66 | 4.22 | 6.03 (4.45 to 8.18)b |
| Volleyball | 236 | 187 | 423 | 445 344 | 899 742 | 1 345 086 | 5.30 | 2.08 | 3.14 | 2.55 (2.10 to 3.09)b |
| Field hockey | 77 | 22 | 99 | 118 323 | 253 266 | 371 589 | 6.51 | 0.87 | 2.66 | 7.49 (4.66 to 12.03)b |
| Softball | 133 | 92 | 225 | 338 722 | 642 798 | 981 520 | 3.93 | 1.43 | 2.29 | 2.74 (2.10 to 3.58)b |
| Swimming | 8 | 28 | 36 | 101 238 | 445 615 | 546 853 | 0.79 | 0.63 | 0.66 | 1.26 (0.57 to 2.76) |
| Track and field | 16 | 19 | 35 | 231 208 | 987 341 | 1 218 549 | 0.69 | 0.19 | 0.29 | 3.60 (1.85 to 6.99)b |
| Cross country | 3 | 5 | 8 | 101 000 | 511 038 | 612 038 | 0.30 | 0.10 | 0.13 | 3.04 (0.73 to 12.70) |
| Coed sports: cheerleadingc | 74 | 366 | 440 | 333 758 | 1 016 114 | 1 349 872 | 2.22 | 3.60 | 3.26 | 0.62 (0.48 to 0.79)b |
| Boys’ sex-comparable sports totald | 756 | 331 | 1087 | 1 937 439 | 5 272 427 | 7 209 866 | 3.90 | 0.63 | 1.51 | 6.22 (5.46 to 7.07)b |
| Girls’ sex-comparable sports totald | 1528 | 477 | 2005 | 1 584 954 | 4 394 504 | 5 979 458 | 9.64 | 1.09 | 3.35 | 8.88 (8.01 to 9.84)b |
| Overall total | 6079 | 3463 | 9542 | 5 862 030 | 17 008 334 | 22 870 364 | 10.37 | 2.04 | 4.17 | 5.09 (4.89 to 5.31)b |
| Sport . | No. Concussions . | No. AEs . | Rates per 10 000 AEsa . | Competition Versus Practice Rate Ratio (95% CI) . | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competition . | Practice . | Overall . | Competition . | Practice . | Overall . | Competition . | Practice . | Overall . | ||
| Boys-only sports | ||||||||||
| Football | 2521 | 1662 | 4183 | 703 784 | 3 319 623 | 4 023 407 | 35.82 | 5.01 | 10.40 | 7.15 (6.73 to 7.61)b |
| Ice hockey | 187 | 21 | 208 | 95 854 | 174 769 | 270 623 | 19.51 | 1.20 | 7.69 | 16.24 (10.34 to 25.49)b |
| Lacrosse | 256 | 67 | 323 | 196 296 | 460 069 | 656 365 | 13.04 | 1.46 | 4.92 | 8.96 (6.84 to 11.72)b |
| Wrestling | 292 | 273 | 565 | 294 452 | 874 227 | 1 168 679 | 9.92 | 3.12 | 4.83 | 3.18 (2.69 to 3.75)b |
| Soccer | 421 | 107 | 528 | 450 768 | 1 029 898 | 1 480 666 | 9.34 | 1.04 | 3.57 | 8.99 (7.27 to 11.11)b |
| Basketball | 224 | 152 | 376 | 544 463 | 1 225 492 | 1 769 955 | 4.11 | 1.24 | 2.12 | 3.32 (2.70 to 4.08)b |
| Baseball | 96 | 40 | 136 | 461 197 | 851 518 | 1 312 715 | 2.08 | 0.47 | 1.04 | 4.43 (3.06 to 6.41)b |
| Swimming | 4 | 14 | 18 | 88 029 | 396 751 | 484 780 | 0.45 | 0.35 | 0.37 | 1.29 (0.42 to 3.91) |
| Track and field | 11 | 14 | 25 | 273 956 | 1 173 477 | 1 447 433 | 0.40 | 0.12 | 0.17 | 3.37 (1.53 to 7.41)b |
| Cross country | 0 | 4 | 4 | 119 026 | 595 291 | 714 317 | 0.00 | 0.07 | 0.06 | N/A |
| Girls-only sports | ||||||||||
| Soccer | 864 | 191 | 1055 | 396 309 | 891 423 | 1 287 732 | 21.80 | 2.14 | 8.19 | 10.17 (8.70 to 11.90)b |
| Basketball | 504 | 142 | 646 | 416 477 | 916 289 | 1 332 766 | 12.10 | 1.55 | 4.85 | 7.81 (6.48 to 9.41)b |
| Lacrosse | 152 | 57 | 209 | 151 826 | 343 593 | 495 419 | 10.01 | 1.66 | 4.22 | 6.03 (4.45 to 8.18)b |
| Volleyball | 236 | 187 | 423 | 445 344 | 899 742 | 1 345 086 | 5.30 | 2.08 | 3.14 | 2.55 (2.10 to 3.09)b |
| Field hockey | 77 | 22 | 99 | 118 323 | 253 266 | 371 589 | 6.51 | 0.87 | 2.66 | 7.49 (4.66 to 12.03)b |
| Softball | 133 | 92 | 225 | 338 722 | 642 798 | 981 520 | 3.93 | 1.43 | 2.29 | 2.74 (2.10 to 3.58)b |
| Swimming | 8 | 28 | 36 | 101 238 | 445 615 | 546 853 | 0.79 | 0.63 | 0.66 | 1.26 (0.57 to 2.76) |
| Track and field | 16 | 19 | 35 | 231 208 | 987 341 | 1 218 549 | 0.69 | 0.19 | 0.29 | 3.60 (1.85 to 6.99)b |
| Cross country | 3 | 5 | 8 | 101 000 | 511 038 | 612 038 | 0.30 | 0.10 | 0.13 | 3.04 (0.73 to 12.70) |
| Coed sports: cheerleadingc | 74 | 366 | 440 | 333 758 | 1 016 114 | 1 349 872 | 2.22 | 3.60 | 3.26 | 0.62 (0.48 to 0.79)b |
| Boys’ sex-comparable sports totald | 756 | 331 | 1087 | 1 937 439 | 5 272 427 | 7 209 866 | 3.90 | 0.63 | 1.51 | 6.22 (5.46 to 7.07)b |
| Girls’ sex-comparable sports totald | 1528 | 477 | 2005 | 1 584 954 | 4 394 504 | 5 979 458 | 9.64 | 1.09 | 3.35 | 8.88 (8.01 to 9.84)b |
| Overall total | 6079 | 3463 | 9542 | 5 862 030 | 17 008 334 | 22 870 364 | 10.37 | 2.04 | 4.17 | 5.09 (4.89 to 5.31)b |
N/A, not applicable.
One athlete participating in 1 practice or 1 competition.
Denotes statistical significance (IRR, 95% CI does not include 1.00).
Competition category also includes performance events for cheerleading.
Only includes sports in which both sexes participated (ie, soccer, basketball, baseball or softball, cross country, swimming, and track and field).