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Study Shows Younger Children Experience Persistent Symptoms Following Concussion

Study Shows Younger Children Experience Persistent Symptoms Following Concussion 1024 540 Abbie Miller and Katelyn Scott

Nearly 30% of children younger than 6 years who had a concussion during the study had prolonged symptoms, which can affect learning and behavior later in childhood.

When people typically think of concussion, the first type of patient that comes to mind is a youth athlete. However, concussion is also common in early childhood, due to kids’ naturally exploratory behavior as they experience and learn their world.

A new study from researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital finds that while a toddler’s concussion experience is often different than an older child’s, symptoms can last just as long.

The study, published in Pediatrics, examined 418 children ages 6 months to 6 years (median age 2.8 years). In the study 28% of children younger than 6 years old who experienced a concussion developed prolonged symptoms, which can affect learning and behavior later in childhood. This is comparable to rates of prolonged symptoms in older children and adults.

In school-aged children and adults with concussion, symptoms that last longer than one month are considered Persisting Symptoms after Concussion (PSaC). This study adds – for the first time – knowledge about PSaC in younger children, although more research is needed to determine the clinical infrastructure needed to assess and care for these children.

“It is important for clinicians to be aware that PSaC is common in young children — just as it is in older kids and adults,” says Sean Rose, MD, lead author of the study, pediatric neurologist and co-director of the Complex Concussion Clinic at Nationwide Children’s. “Monitoring young children for persistent symptoms after concussion can help ensure they receive the full scope of care needed to make a full recovery.”

Younger children sustain concussion mostly due to falls, as opposed to older children who are more often injured in a sport setting. Because of their inability to report their own symptoms, traditional concussion symptom scales can fail to detect them. Post-concussion symptoms can include behavioral changes, excessive irritability, appetite changes, decreased social engagement, stomachaches and increased dependence or clinginess.

“Because of their size differences and weaker muscles, young children are more likely to sustain a brain injury,” says Dr. Rose. “This study helps emphasize that younger children with a head injury should be appropriately evaluated to determine if treatments or other services are needed, and supports the need for additional research to uncover the best ways to diagnose and support young patients with concussion.”

 

Acknowledgements: This paper is part of the larger Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC) Kids’ Outcomes And Long-term Abilities (KOALA) study, led by Miriam Beauchamp, PhD. This study was supported by grants from the Dale Jr. Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health and Research.

 

Reference:

Rose SC, Dupont D, Tang K, Yeates KO, Dégeilh F, Gagnon I, Gravel J, McNally K, Burstein B, Stang A, Stanley RM, Zemek RL, Beauchamg MH. Frequency and predictors of persisting symptoms across one year after early childhood concussion. Pediatrics. 26 Jan 2026. [Epub ahead of print]

Image credit: Adobe Stock

About the author

Abbie (Roth) Miller, MS, MWC, is a passionate communicator of science. As the manager of medical and science content at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, she shares stories about innovative research and discovery with audiences ranging from parents to preeminent researchers and leaders. She is a Medical Writer Certified®, credentialed by the American Medical Writers Association, and received her masters of science in Health Communication from Boston University.

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