Jonathan D. Lichtenstein, PsyD, Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756.
Am J Sports Med. 2014 Feb;42(2):479-84. doi: 10.1177/0363546513509225. Epub 2013 Nov 15.
Prevalence rates of invalid baseline scores on computerized neurocognitive assessments for high school, collegiate, and professional athletes have been published in the literature. At present, there is limited research on the prevalence of invalid baseline scores in pre-high school athletes.
Pre-high school athletes assessed with baseline neurocognitive tests would show higher prevalence rates of invalidity than older youth athletes, and those athletes, regardless of age, who were tested in a large group setting would show a higher prevalence rate of invalidity than athletes tested in a small group setting.
Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.
A total of 502 athletes between the ages of 10 and 18 years completed preseason baseline neurocognitive tests in "large" or "small" groups. All athletes completed the online version of ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing). Baseline test results that were "flagged" by the computer software as being of suspect validity and labeled with a "++" symbol were identified for analysis. Participants were retrospectively assigned to 2 independent groups: large group or small group. Test administration of the large group occurred off-site in groups of approximately 10 athletes, and test administration of the small group took place at a private-practice neuropsychology center with only 1 to 3 athletes present.
Chi-square analyses identified a significantly greater proportion of participants obtaining invalid baseline results on the basis of age; younger athletes produced significantly more invalid baseline scores (7.0%, 17/244) than older athletes (2.7%, 7/258) (χ2 (1) = 4.99; P = .021). Log-linear analysis revealed a significant age (10-12 years, 13-18 years) × size (small, large) interaction effect (χ2 (4) = 66.1; P < .001) on the prevalence of invalidity, whereby younger athletes tested in larger groups were significantly more likely to provide invalid results (11.9%) than younger athletes tested in smaller groups (5.4%), older athletes tested in larger groups (2.7%), and older athletes tested in smaller groups (2.7%).
Younger athletes tend to exhibit a greater prevalence of invalid baseline results on neurocognitive computerized tests than older youth athletes; the prevalence increases when testing is conducted in a large group and nonclinical setting.
在高中、大学和职业运动员的计算机神经认知评估中，无效基线分数的流行率已在文献中公布。目前，关于青春期前运动员无效基线分数的流行率研究有限。
接受基线神经认知测试的青春期前运动员的无效性发生率将高于年龄较大的青年运动员，并且无论年龄大小，在大组环境中接受测试的运动员的无效性发生率将高于在小组环境中接受测试的运动员。
横断面研究；证据水平，3 级。
共有 502 名年龄在 10 至 18 岁的运动员在“大”或“小”组中完成了赛季前的基线神经认知测试。所有运动员都完成了在线版的 ImPACT（即时脑震荡后评估和认知测试）。计算机软件标记为可疑有效性并标有“++”符号的可疑基线测试结果被确定进行分析。参与者被回顾性地分为 2 个独立组：大组或小组。大组的测试管理在大约 10 名运动员的场外进行，而小组成员则在私人实践神经心理学中心进行测试，每次只有 1 到 3 名运动员参加。
卡方分析确定了参与者根据年龄获得无效基线结果的比例显著更高；年轻运动员产生了更多无效的基线分数（7.0%，17/244），明显高于年龄较大的运动员（2.7%，7/258）（χ2（1）= 4.99；P =.021）。对数线性分析显示，年龄（10-12 岁，13-18 岁）×大小（小，大）交互作用有显著影响（χ2（4）= 66.1；P <.001），在无效性的流行率方面，较大组中接受测试的年轻运动员比较小组（5.4%）、较大组中接受测试的年长运动员（2.7%）和较小组中接受测试的年长运动员（2.7%）更有可能提供无效结果（11.9%）。
年轻运动员在神经认知计算机测试中表现出比年长青年运动员更高的无效基线结果流行率；当在大组和非临床环境中进行测试时，流行率会增加。
