Concussions may contribute to future headache burden in youth athletes

In a multicenter study, 7,453 youth athletes aged a median of 15.4 years were followed-up for an average of 1.3 years.
The researchers found that having a higher number of past concussions correlated with more severe headache burden, as did concussions characterized by loss of consciousness. Athletes who reported chronic headache (n=1,147) at baseline had a significantly higher incidence of future concussion than those who did not, at 55.6 versus 43.0 per 100 patient-years. This association was no longer statistically significant on multivariate analysis, however.
The team says that the findings indicate a need for conservative management of chronic headache in young athletes.