Study links concussions to higher risk for suicide
A research paper was published Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, linking concussions to a greater risk for suicide. The study performed an analysis of adults in Ontario, from April 1, 1992, to March 31, 2012 (a 20-year period), excluding severe cases that resulted in hospital admission. The outcome was a greater long-term risk of suicide after a weekday or weekend concussion. The median age at the time of suicide was 41, for both men and women; patients under the age of 17 were excluded as the majority of the deaths recorded were adults.
The study identified more than 235,000 patients with concussions, and that 667 people with a history of concussions ended their lives. Those injured on weekdays accounted to 519 suicides, three times the population norm of about nine per 100,000 annually. Those injured on the weekend accounted for 148 suicides, which is four times the population norm. The injuries that occurred on the weekend are more significant because they are related to recreational activity. The hope from the researchers and the study is for people to be more aware and active concerning their safety.
In order to provide awareness and preventative measures, the researchers suggested three important ways to prevent other risk factors for suicide: “First, concussions are sometimes preventable through adequate training, the minimizing of distractions, avoidance of alcohol, [as well as] use of protective gear and other safety basics. Second, concussions are easily neglected under a popular belief that the neurologic symptoms have an obvious cause, will resolve quickly, leave nothing visible on medical imaging and do not require follow-up. Third, concussions are rarely deemed relevant for consideration by psychiatrists or other physicians when eliciting a patient’s history.”
As the researchers of the most recent study argue, there are many mitigating factors that can lead to someone taking their life. It should be noted, however, that concussions may not be the sole possible cause.
“It may not be that the concussion was the cause,” noted Donald A. Redelmeier, one of the study’s lead researchers. “It may be that they were already predisposed towards self-harm activity, and in that way, the concussion isn’t a mechanism; it is a marker of an underlying tendency. And that certainly could be the case in our study.”
“But it does leave this lingering question: Were they just predisposed to begin with or was there a direct injury that disrupted serotonin pathways and led to impulsivity, and depression and sleep disturbances, and irritability?” Redelmeir’s patients who suffer from concussions take a long time to recover and he sometimes wonders if they ever will.
Recent studies on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) suggests that concussions may cause progressive degenerative brain disease and can often be linked to dementia, depression, loss of impulse control, and suicide. CTE was recently diagnosed in 87-91 deceased NFL players—one such player being Mike Webster, the subject of the Oscar nominated drama Concussion. Sports like hockey and football are not mentioned in the study, but the correlation between activities done on the weekend—hockey and football games for example, should not be dismissed.