© 2009 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Association Between Previous Concussion History and Symptom Endorsement During Preseason Baseline Testing in High School and Collegiate Athletes

Background: A graded symptom checklist is a commonly used concussion evaluation measure. Little is known about pre-season baseline symptomatology of high school and college athletes with and without a previous concussion history. Hypothesis: The primary hypothesis investigated was that those individuals with a concussion history would report more symptoms at baseline testing. The effects of sex and age on symptoms were also examined. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Subjects included 8930 high school and collegiate athletes (height, 177.79 ± 9.97 cm; mass, 75.20 ± 19.21 kg; age, 16.60 ± 1.64 years). Subjects completed a self-report graded symptom checklist and concussion history ques-tionnaire during a preseason clinical testing session. Symptoms reported (yes or no) on the 18-item graded symptom checklist served as the dependent variables. Results: A significant association was observed between symptoms on the graded symptom checklist and previous concus-sion history (P ≤.001). No differences were observed between high school and college athletes regarding symptom endorse-ment (t 8928 = 0.620; P =.535). A statistical but not clinically meaningful difference was observed between the means for males and females symptom endorsement (