Grim findings out of Canada suggest that individuals who suffer a concussion may see their risk of suicide rise in the years after injury.
The study examined more than 235,000 patients who sustained a concussion at some point during a 20-year-period. Researchers found that adults who suffer a concussion may see their suicide risk increase threefold or more in the years to come. Interestingly, the likelihood of suicide was even greater if the person suffered the concussion on the weekend, leading researchers to believe that the majority of these concussions were suffered during recreational activities, not at work.
“Weekend concussions were associated with a one-third further increased risk of suicide compared with weekday concussions,” researchers wrote.
Concussions and Suicide
The study clearly shows that concussions have serious long term effects on an individual’s mental health. Other findings from the study revealed:
- The average time from concussion to subsequent suicide was only six years.
- In the study, the average age of a concussed patient was 41 years old, and they tended to be male urban dwellers without a previous diagnosis of a mental health issue or a previous suicide attempt.
Also, and while the authors don’t really delve into how these things correlate, but in addition to a boost in suicides among those who were concussed on a weekend, researchers also noted that there was a “distinctly larger” longtime risk of suicide “among patients after an ankle sprain.”
Donald Redelmeier, lead author and senior core scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, said the medical community is getting better at monitoring and managing concussion symptoms in the short-term or until visible symptoms resolve, but they need to do a better job of treating the hidden symptoms of a concussion.
“Given the quick usual resolution of symptoms, physicians may underestimate the adverse effects of concussion and its relevance in a patient’s history,” said Redelmeler. “Greater attention to the long-term implications of a concussion might save lives because deaths from suicide can be prevented.”
