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Association of sports and physical activity with mild traumatic brain injury and behavioral and neurocognitive

Wenjing Meng1, Florin Vaida1, Emily L Dennis2

  • 1Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Division of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.

Brain Injury
|December 12, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Childhood sports participation shows mixed results for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) risk. While climbing and soccer increase mTBI odds, yoga participation is linked to lower risk. Sports engagement benefits behavior and cognition, even with prior injury.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric neurology
  • Sports medicine
  • Developmental psychology

Background:

  • Childhood sports and physical activity (PA) offer psychological benefits but carry a risk of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
  • Understanding the specific risks and benefits of individual sports is crucial for child development and safety.
  • Research is needed to explore the link between sports participation, mTBI, and various child outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between individual sports/PA and mTBI in children aged 9-10.
  • To investigate whether sports/PA participation influences physical health, behavioral/emotional status, and neurocognitive performance.
  • To determine if mTBI status modifies the relationship between sports/PA and child outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 11,878 children in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.
  • Lifetime mTBI was the primary outcome, with individual sports/PA as the main exposure.
  • Secondary outcomes included physical health, behavioral/emotional problems, and neurocognitive performance.

Main Results:

  • Climbing and soccer participation were associated with increased odds of mTBI (aOR=1.677 and aOR=1.366, respectively).
  • Yoga participation showed a decreased odds of mTBI (aOR=0.425).
  • Sports/PA participation was linked to improved behavioral/emotional and neurocognitive functioning, irrespective of mTBI history.

Conclusions:

  • Soccer and climbing participation correlate with higher mTBI risk, whereas yoga participation correlates with lower risk in children.
  • Sports/PA engagement is associated with positive behavioral/emotional and neurocognitive outcomes for children, regardless of injury history.
  • These findings highlight the nuanced relationship between specific sports, brain injury risk, and developmental outcomes in children.
Abstract

Keywords:
Mild traumatic brain injurybehaviordepressionemotionneurocognitionsports/PA

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