Younger children are more likely to show more severe symptoms of concussion than older children, with a slightly higher rate among boys than girls, according to a quantitative assessment in JAMA Pediatrics.1 Age was the largest single variable influencing child Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3) scores, with worse scores reported among younger children. Investigators from multiple institutions in Wisconsin assembled a cohort of 478 child athletes (234 girls and 241 boys) ranging in age from 5 to 13 years (mean age, 9.9 years; standard deviation [SD], 1.9 years).
Children in the youngest age group (age 5-7 years) consistently reported worse scores on all measures than those in the highest age group (age 11-13 years), including higher mean symptom severity scores (18.2 [SD, 10.0] vs 11.3 [SD, 9.0]; mean difference, 6.86 [95% CI, 4.22-9.50]; effect size, 0.74) and lower scores on the total Standardized Assessment of Concussion-child version (mean, 19.5 [SD, 5.1] vs 26.1 [SD, 2.1]; mean difference, −6.59 [95% CI, −7.49 to −5.68; effect size, −2.1). Performance on the modified Balance Error Scoring System and tandem gait tests were also significantly worse in the younger group.