Researchers have found that children who sustain brain injuries are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, and related disorders as adults.
Brain injuries are always difficult to cope with, but brain injuries in kids are especially devastating. For kids and parents alike, dealing with a childhood brain injury is stressful, costly, and emotionally challenging.
Study Links Brain Injury in Kids to Anxiety and Depression as Adults
The study was conducted by researchers at Monash University School of Psychological Sciences in Melbourne, Australia. Researchers found that children with serious brain injuries had a higher likelihood of experiencing long-term psychological disorders, such as anxiety, phobias, and depression.
Compared to children who had not suffered any kind of brain injury, children who had experienced a brain injury were five times as likely to have an anxiety disorder in adulthood. Individuals who had suffered a brain injury as a child were four times as likely to have panic attacks, depression, and phobias as those who had never suffered a brain injury. People who had suffered a moderate-to-severe brain injury exhibited the highest rates of anxiety disorders and had a higher chance of suffering multiple anxiety disorders.
Concussions on the Rise Among Kids
Whether a child plays sports, is involved in a car accident, or sustains a brain injury in another type of accident, brain injuries are always a serious matter. In recent years, healthcare professionals have learned that even a so-called “mild” concussion can be dangerous in children. Even a single mild concussion can make a child or adolescent more vulnerable to subsequent brain injuries.
As many as 2 million children suffer a concussion every year. Researchers also say that up to 1.2 million childhood concussions go unreported every year, either because parents don’t realize their child has suffered a concussion, or because doctors fail to diagnose concussion.
Signs of concussion in children and adolescents include:
- Headaches
- Fatigue, drowsiness
- Insomnia
- Lack of energy
- Blurred or double vision
- Sensitivity to noise or light
- Dizziness, lightheadedness
- Nausea
- Trouble concentrating
- Sudden poor performance in school
- Irritability, overly emotional, other personality changes
- Memory problems, forgetfulness
Any time a parent suspects their child has suffered any kind of brain injury, including concussion, it’s important to see a doctor as quickly as possible.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer for Brain Injuries in Kids
New York City personal injury lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter states, “According to the Brain Injury Association of America, traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States. Every year, 62,000 children suffer a brain injury in the U.S. Each year, 564,000 children are sent to the emergency room with traumatic brain injuries.”
If your child has suffered a brain injury or concussion, you have important rights. Protect your child’s right to receive compensation by contacting a New York City personal injury lawyer today.
Media Contact:
Aviation Accident plaintiff attorney Jonathan C. Reiter.
T: 866-324-9211.
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Prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future case. Recoveries always depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case, the injuries suffered, damages incurred, and the responsibility of those involved.
Sources:
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/traumatic-brain-injury-may-make-children-more-prone-to-anxiety-and-phobias/2017/06/16/c00a112e-4bb2-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html?utm_term=.0ce7045c7fe6
- http://www.biausa.org/brain-injury-children.htm
- http://www.traumaticbraininjury.net/nearly-2-million-children-experience-concussions-every-year/
- http://www.stlouischildrens.org/articles/wellness/concussion-fact-sheet
