Purpose: Current research suggests that athletes with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at risk for poorer outcomes arising from sport related concussions (SRC). There is limited research related evaluating mental health outcomes in athletes diagnosed with ADHD. The purpose of the study is to evaluate mental health outcomes among Canadian Football League (CFL) athletes with (ADHD) and to measure outcomes based upon a history of concussion. Methods: Professional football players from the CFL (n = 784) were administered a baseline mental health measure, the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL), as a component of pre-season evaluations as part of a larger cohort study (Active Rehabilitation). Diagnosis of ADHD was the independent variable and HRQL index scores measuring physical functioning, depression, cognitive functioning, were dependent variables. A second analysis compared ADHD athletes with no history of concussion to those with a history of concussion on the HRQL indexes. Results: Participants diagnosed with ADHD (n = 80) had statistically significant differences on the Physical Functioning (t(782) = −3.359, p < 0.001), Depression ((t(782) = −2.820, p = 0.002) and Cognitive (t(782) = −3.570, p < 0.001) domains of the HRQL, compared to athletes without ADHD. Among the athletes who are diagnosed with ADHD, no mental health differences were found between those who have at least one concussion and those who do not. Conclusions: This study did not find a significant effect of concussion on mental health outcomes in participants with ADHD. However, athletes with ADHD present with higher mental health symptoms which may merit closer monitoring.
Purpose Examine the relationship between demographic and health factors, and oculomotor functioning during baseline testing in professional Canadian Football League (CFL) athletes. Methods 428 male athletes participated in baseline concussion testing. Athletes ranged in age from 21 to 40 years (M=26.44, SD=2.87) and reported a history of 0, 1, or 2+ sport-related concussions (SRCs). All athlete participants completed the Head Check questions of demographics and medical history, and the EYE-SYNC saccade test to explore how the presence of a history of concussions, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning Disability (LD), age, and post-exertion influenced baseline measures of oculomotor functioning using the EYE-SYNC saccade outcomes of accuracy and precision. Results Correlations revealed no significant relationships between combined vertical and horizontal saccade outcomes and the demographic/health variables (p>05). Independent t-tests indicated no significant differences in mean saccade performance between athletes with and without ADHD and/or LD (p>.05). A three-way multiple analysis of variance, run with age group and four saccade outcomes (LeftAccuracyXY, LeftPrecisionXY, RightAccuracyXY, RightPrecisionXY), showed no main effect of age group on the combined saccade outcomes F(8, 844)=.91, p=.50. Finally, a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance also revealed no significant differences from pre- to post-exertion assessments, F(4, 56)=.41, p=.80. Conclusions The oculomotor functioning of CFL athletes at baseline does not appear to be influenced by a history of concussion, ADHD, LD, age, or physical exertion. This information may help professionals with their clinical decision-making regarding SRC diagnosis.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine baseline and post-concussion injury characteristics of ocular eye movements using the Sync Think visual eye tracking apparatus in professional football players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Methods: The visual tracking testing protocol uses an integrated stimulus presentation-eye tracking apparatus (EyeLink CL; SR Research, Ontario, Canada) with which eye movements were recorded at 500 Hz using infrared video-oculography. The standard deviation of radial errors (SDRE) and tangential errors (SDTE) were used to determine poor visual tracking. Participants were (n = 748) rostered players in the Canadian Football League. All participants completed assessments at baseline. Sixteen players completed post-concussion assessments and 98 players completed post-exertional assessments during the 2021 season to evaluate the impact of physical exertion on ocular movement metrics. Results: Participants with diagnosed concussions (n = 16+) demonstrated significantly poorer performance on measures of both gaze stability and smooth pursuit (p < 0.001). The poorer results were correlated with significantly higher subjective ratings of dizziness (p < 0.01) and fogginess (p < 0.001). In contrast, healthy participants who completed the same ocular motor assessments demonstrated no significant differences compared to baseline test performance. Conclusions: Findings suggest that subtle differences in oculomotor functioning arise from sport concussion in professional football players. Further research with larger sample sizes and correlation with other cognitive and physical outcomes is warranted.
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