High school football players are twice as likely to sustain a concussion as college players a new study by The Institute of Medicine reveals. Researchers estimate that high school football players suffered 11.2 concussions for every 10,000 games and practices, where as the rate for college players is 6.3 concussions. Even these estimates are considered to be conservative due to the number of concussions that go unreported.

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High levels of concussions in young athletes is thought to be due to the culture among young athletes. Young players commonly say the game and team are more important than their individual health, and that they would be willing to play through a concussion to avoid letting dow teammates, parents, schools and coaches. In addition, adolescent brains are not yet fully developed and thus more vulnerable to injury.

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While helmets have been proven to reduce the risk of injuries, such as skull fractures, there is limited evidence to suggest that current helmet designs can reduce concussion risk. For example, NFL helmet provider, Riddell, warned that even a helmet that passed industry safety standards could still leave a player with a 95 percent likelihood of receiving a concussion. These results are astounding, seeing that low budgets in youth programs leave young plaers with poorly fitting helmets and even greater risk ofr injury. 

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The report has left many unanswered questions in the field of research on concussions in youth athletes. There is still an unknown link between concussions and memory loss, depression, suicidal impulses and Alzheimers disease, although there is mounting evidence.