Playing Around and Then a 'Bang' on the Head... Is Our Child's IQ Okay?

US-Canada Joint Research Team Announces
"No Link Between Concussion and IQ Decline"

There is a saying that "hitting your head makes you less intelligent," but research has revealed that concussions are not related to a decrease in intelligence quotient (IQ).

This photo is not directly related to the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

On the 18th (local time), Professor Keith Yeates of the University of Calgary in Canada and Professor Ashley Ware of Georgia State University in the United States, along with their research team, reported in the medical journal Pediatrics that an investigation of over 860 patients with concussions and orthopedic injuries who visited children's hospitals in Canada and the U.S. showed that concussions do not have a clinically significant impact on IQ.

Children often fall or hit their heads while playing, making them more susceptible to pediatric concussions. Parents worry about this, and debates about whether such incidents lead to lower IQs have been ongoing.

Professor Yeates stated, "There is great concern about the effects of concussions on children, and one of the biggest questions is whether concussions affect overall intellectual functioning," adding, "The data on this is mixed, and opinions within the medical community vary."

The research team conducted IQ tests three months after injury on patients who visited emergency rooms at five children's hospitals in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal in Canada. In the U.S., IQ tests were conducted 3 to 18 days after injury at two children's hospitals in Ohio. The study included 566 concussion patients aged 8 to 16 and 300 patients with orthopedic injuries.

Even after controlling for demographic backgrounds (socioeconomic status, gender), trauma, pain experience, injury severity, loss of consciousness at the time of injury, and history of concussion, the results of IQ tests immediately after injury and three months later showed no association between concussion and IQ decline in both the concussion group and the orthopedic injury group.

Professor Ware emphasized that the conclusion that concussions do not affect IQ is a clear result obtained by integrating IQ tests conducted a few days after concussion occurrence and three months after recovery from injury.

She added, "When a child suffers a concussion, parents are overwhelmed with great fear," and said, "This research result sends a reassuring message to parents to 'rest easy.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.