Steven M. Wolf<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Also, football players were 0.5% more likely to develop neurodevelopmental disorders, 5% more likely to develop anxiety, 3% more likely to develop depression, 1% more likely to develop substance use and 0.5% more likely to develop suicidality or violence. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the emotional dysregulation, the depression, anxiety, the substance use, things that come up possibly years later, that really I found more surprising, because the headaches are well known,\u201d Thorman said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHeadaches are the number one symptom of post-concussion syndrome,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut the emotional regulation may be a bit more subtle and something that\u2019s not necessarily picked up on without these kinds of large population studies.\u201d <\/p>\n
The researchers called all these risks significantly elevated. <\/p>\n
Headaches and migraines were experienced by 20.7% of these patients overall, most commonly in cheerleading (29.5%), volleyball (27%) and soccer (24.2%). <\/p>\n
Post-concussion syndrome was experienced by 5.2% overall, led by cheerleading (8.2%), volleyball (7.2%) and wrestling (6.1%). <\/p>\n
Mood disorders impacted 2.7% overall, led by cheerleading at 4.4%. Anxiety disorders affected 4.2% overall, led by baseball at 6.1%. Neurodevelopmental disorders impacted 0.1% overall, led by bicycle riding at 0.9%. <\/p>\n
Vision\/blindness affected 4% overall, led by volleyball at 5.6%. Substance use disorders affected 1.1% overall, led by roller skating and skateboarding at 4.5%. <\/p>\n
Additionally, developmental and mood disorders were more likely to develop among patients who experienced TBI when they were younger, and substance use disorders were more likely among those who experienced TBI when they were older. <\/p>\n
Educating clinicians, families<\/h2>\n Wolf emphasized that people generally know about the risks for professional athletes and for adults who participate in sports, but they are not aware of the risks for children and adolescents. <\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies will show up in our office after a concussion and say, \u2018Well, really, I didn\u2019t know the sport had such a risk or such a consequence,\u2019\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Now, he continued, this data enables clinicians to have informed conversations about these risks with these families. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese were really things that made me realize that I need to do better counseling as a clinician based on this data,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cThat\u2019s the takeaway for me as a clinician.\u201d <\/p>\n
Particularly, Thorman said, families and clinicians alike need to acknowledge the differences between adult injuries and pediatric injuries. <\/p>\n
\u201cChildren are not mini adults,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Young adults and older teenagers are in much later stages of development, and most of their growth has already happened, Thorman said. Yet conclusions based on studies of these patients have been applied to younger children. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an extrapolation going from older people to younger people that may not really be a fair comparison,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Wolf also noted the misperception that children are resilient and can shake off these injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are even more unlikely to express their symptoms because they want to appear tough,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Additionally, caregivers and coaches may encourage children to \u201ctough it up\u201d when they get hurt and get back in the game, which is a common attitude in sports for older athletes. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to develop a culture in sports where children are feeling empowered to come forward and say, \u2018I was hit in the head,\u2019\u201d Thorman said. <\/p>\n
Months later, these children may say that they have been experiencing headaches because of that hit. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen more awareness is brought to these issues, it may help open some minds to taking those concerns more seriously and encouraging kids to say, \u2018Hold on. I may not be feeling great right now. I need to sit down,\u2019\u201d Thorman said. <\/p>\n
Wolf also said that families should be educated about the risks of these sports when their children are still young, adding that even sports like wrestling and volleyball come with risks. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time, we want children to be children,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
When children participate in sports, he said, they need to be trained properly. Coaches need to have good safety awareness too. For example, he said, young football players need to understand proper tackling form. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe same thing in soccer, when jumping up for a header,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s about the skill set and training.\u201d <\/p>\n
Wolf also emphasized that children should wear helmets while riding bicycles or skateboards, roller skating or roller blading, participating in snow sports like skiing or snowboarding, and while playing lacrosse. <\/p>\n
Children even need to exercise caution while on the golf course, Thorman said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe sport that had some of the most severe injuries was golf, because almost 100% of kids who get hit in the head with a golf club end up with depressed skull fractures in the ICU,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no one way to be safe.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want everybody to keep their brains in the right space and not have concussions,\u201d Wolf said. <\/p>\n
Next, Thorman and Wolf said they will use the data to create advice and guidelines for primary care doctors and pediatric neurologists to help them discuss these risks with families and create better awareness. <\/p>\n
Both want to see a safe, child-friendly world that is not overly protective. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would say 25% of calls to our office to set up an appointment for concussion are not concussions,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cWe need to do some good education on what needs to be evaluated.\u201d <\/p>\n
Wolf envisioned a protocol that families can use when injuries happen. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do they do, so we don\u2019t overuse medical resources, and we don\u2019t underuse medical resources?\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to ignore the important ones, but I don\u2019t want someone going to the ER for every little bump or every little headache.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information:<\/b><\/p>\n
Isaac Thorman, MSc,<\/b> can be reached at ithorman@student.nymc.edu. Steven M. Wolf, MD, <\/b>can be reached at Steven_Wolf@bchphysicians.org.<\/p>\n\n
\n
Sources\/Disclosures<\/h3>\n Source: <\/h2>\n Thorman I, et al. Youth football and the epidemic of pediatric brain injury: Neurologic and psychiatric outcomes in a multinational cohort of 72,025 concussions. Presented at: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 18-22, 2026; Chicago. <\/p>\n
Reference:<\/h2>\n Study: Football associated with nearly one in five brain injuries in youth sports. https:\/\/www.aan.com\/PressRoom\/Home\/PressRelease\/5324. Published: March 2, 2026. Accessed April 13, 2026.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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