It’s no secret that brain injuries can lead to serious complications. In fact, the medical community is still fully researching how head trauma affects victims. This is particularly true for young children and teenagers, who are not often the subjects in medical studies evaluating brain injuries. One recent study took on this task and looked at how brain injuries in teenagers influenced their mental health and the results were stunning.
Researchers in Denmark from The Suicide Prevention Center published the results of a 10-year study in The Journal of Affective Disorders that found a link between suicidal behavior and brain injuries in teenagers. According to the study, suicidal thoughts and behavior are reported in approximately 1% of people between the ages of 12 and 29; however, when young adults in this age range suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the incidence of suicidal thoughts and behavior increased to 4.6%. In addition to the increase in suicidal thoughts and behavior, researchers also found patients with a history of multiple TBIs attempted suicide for the first time at a significantly younger age. The more TBIs a patient sustained, the higher their risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior.
TBIs In Sports
Many children all over the world play sports, but some sports are more dangerous than others. Football is proving to be one of the most dangerous sports for teenagers because of the repeated impacts to the head. Studies have found a link between the concussions sustained while playing football and serious neurological conditions, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. The new study indicates that not only do concussions affect one’s nervous system, but they could also dramatically affect an individual’s mental health.
The largest organization that oversees sports for young adults is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA was created with the goal of making sports, particularly football, safer for athletes. Although the NCAA is charged with safeguarding student athletes’ health, it has fallen short of this goal for thousands of former football players. The NCAA has known about the long-term side effects of concussions for decades, but failed to act to implement better safety protocols that could have mitigated the damage for student athletes.
NCAA Lawsuits
The NCAA knew concussions could have lasting and debilitating effects for student athletes. New research is continually being published indicating just how devastating repeated concussions can be for individuals. The NCAA needs to be held accountable for failing to protect student athletes. If you played football in college, contact Raizner Law today to learn your legal options.
