Adolescents Face a Risk of Developing Depressive Symptoms Following a Concussion

According to findings published in Sports Health, more comprehensive screening is needed when caring for adolescents who suffer a concussion. Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) found that adolescents show elevated depressive symptoms immediately following a concussion. More adolescents with concussion had above normal limits for depressive symptoms (30%) than adolescents who never had a concussion.

“Our study found that a meaningful number of kids report depressive symptoms when we screened for them within the first month of a concussion injury,” said senior study author Catherine McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN, a senior fellow with CHOP’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) and an associate professor of Nursing in the Department of Family and Community Health at Penn Nursing. “It is important that frontline providers regularly screen for depression as a component of concussion care.”

Participants were age 13 to 18 years with (n=111) or without (n=171) concussion who completed assessments for depression and anxiety from the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Participants who had concussions were diagnosed within 28 days of injury in a CHOP Minds Matter Concussion Program clinic. Participants who never had a concussion volunteered for the study from a private suburban high school.

“Most patients are remarkably resilient and cope very well after a concussion, but this study demonstrated that about a third of patients will experience mental health needs after their injury, which is why it’s so important for them to have access to comprehensive care, including behavioral health support, as soon as a need is identified,” said study coauthor Jamie Shoop, PhD, a psychologist in the Minds Matter Concussion Program. “By getting the support they need as early as possible, they can avoid some of these symptoms before they become more problematic.”