Changes in sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury in New Zealand during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: To quantify changes in sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury claims in New Zealand during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., 2020 and 2021). Design: Population-based cohort study. Methods: This study included all new sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury claims that were registered with the Accident Compensation Corporation in New Zealand during 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2021. Annual sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury claim rates per 100,000 population from 2010 to 2019 were used to fit autoregressive integrated moving average models, from which forecast estimates with 95 % prediction intervals for 2020 and 2021 were derived and compared against corresponding observed values to obtain estimates of absolute and relative forecast errors. Results: Sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury claimrates were 30 % and 10 % lower than forecasted in 2020 and 2021, respectively, equating to an estimated total of 2410 fewer sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury claims during the two-year period. Conclusions: There was a large reduction in sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury claims in New Zealand during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the need for future epidemiological studies examining temporal trends of sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury to account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia.

Automated summary

This study investigated the claims for sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury in New Zealand during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed a significant reduction in claim rates compared to the forecasted values, with 30% and 10% lower rates in 2020 and 2021, respectively, resulting in an estimated 2410 fewer claims during the two-year period. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in future epidemiological studies on sport-related concussion and traumatic brain injury.