Head Impact Burden and Change in Neurocognitive Function During a Season of Youth Football

To determine the association of repetitive subconcussive head impacts with functional outcomes in primary and high school tackle football players.

Youth football fields and an outpatient sports neurology clinic.

A total of 112 primary school (n = 55, age 9-12 years) and high school (n = 57, age 15-18 years) football players.

A prospective cohort study.

Helmet-based sensors were used to record head impacts during practices and games during the 2016 football season. Impact g-forces were summed to yield a measure of cumulative impact. History of self-reported premorbid medical diagnoses was obtained preseason. Players completed assessments of a variety of outcomes both pre- and postseason: neuropsychological test performance, symptoms, vestibular and ocular-motor screening, balance, parent-completed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, and self-reported behavioral adjustment.

Average cumulative impact was 3700 (standard deviation = 2700) g-forces for the season and did not differ between age groups (P = .594). Cumulative impact did not predict pre- to postseason change scores on any outcome measures (all P > .05). Instead, younger age group and reported history of premorbid ADHD predicted change scores on several cognitive testing measures and parent-reported ADHD symptoms, while reported history of premorbid anxiety and depression predicted change scores on symptom reporting.

In youth tackle football, subconcussive head impacts sustained over the course of a single season may not be associated with neurocognitive functional outcomes. The absence of a significant association may reflect the relatively short follow-up interval, and signals the need for studies across multiple seasons.