In today’s society concussions are something too commonly dealt with. Although I never received one I knew many fellow athletes, mainly football or lacrosse players who struggled not only with recovering but with irreversible symptoms as well. Many struggled with frequent headaches, struggling to focus and confusion, long after they had been deemed healed and cleared to play.

In light of recent events occurring at Ohio State I became interested in the affects concussions have on our mental psyche. Is it possible that concussions can actually cause mental illness?

A study recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry has tested this hypothesis with surprising results. It studied all Danes born between the years 1997-2000, approximately 1.4 million people who were then followed up on in the year 2010. During that time period 113,906 subjects had been admitted to the hospital due to a head injury. Previous to the admittance only 4% had been diagnosed with a mental disorder. Following their head injuries researchers looked for the emergence of the following mental disorders: depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The correlation was stronger than expected.

65% of patients with head injuries were more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. 59% were more likely to develop some form of depression and 28% were more likely to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The researchers often found that the greatest risk for developing these mental disorders was found in the first year after inducing trauma however lingering risk factors could last after 15 years.

One prominent confounding factor is which came first, the disorder or the trauma. Researchers took this into account by studying subjects who went to the hospital with other physical complaints, such as broken bones. It was found that there was still an increase in diagnosis of mental disorder however the correlation was significantly weaker when compared to that of head trauma. “For example, a person who enters a hospital emergency room with a broken arm has a 16-percent greater risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia, whereas for a person who has suffered head trauma, the risk increases by 65 percent.” (Malene Hansen). The correlation between head trauma and mental disorder is significantly stronger than that and a normal injury. This shows that even with a possible undiagnosed mental disorder head trauma is significantly higher risk factor than any normal illness, further proving that the trauma does in fact cause some mental disorders. The researchers even factored in family history of mental illness however results were not significantly changed by aspect.

After thoroughly looking at this study I firmly believe that head trauma or concussions can in fact lead to mental illness. We have seen many cases of this in the NFL with players that have suffered concussions proceed to act inconsistently with their personality. There has been speculation between head trauma and mental illness previously but this legendary study has finally given us proof. When analyzing the study I don’t think it could have been done any better. Researchers took into account a huge population and controlled for many outlying variables. In this cause reverse causation is not possible, mental disorders don’t frequently cause head trauma so this is not applicable to this study. The researchers even took into account previous undiagnosed disposition to mental disorders and that correlation wasn’t as strong. Considering the design of the study I would argue that in this case the correlation between the head trauma and mental illness is casual. First principles are ruled out, the design accounts for confounding variables and much of the Z variables were held constant.

What does this mean for us? It means that doctors can diagnose mental disorders in earlier stages if they are looking at patients who recently suffered head trauma. Awareness can also help subjects who suffer from concussions be conscious of their mental state after injury. Hopefully this can prevent more athletes suffering outbursts after concussions and for those that do to feel a sense of normalcy and not shame if they are suffering.

Works Cited

Hansen, Malene. “Head Injury Can Cause Mental Illness.” Sciencenordic.com. Science Nordic, 3 Jan. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

“Head Injury as Risk Factor for Psychiatric Disorders: A Nationwide Register-Based Follow-Up Study of 113,906 Persons With Head Injury.” American Journal of Psychiatry. American Journal of Psychiatry, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.