Comparison of Urban versus Industry Normative Values of Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT™).

UNLABELLED

Concussion baseline testing has been advocated for the assessment of pre-morbid function. When individual baseline scores are unavailable, utilizing normative values is recommended. However, the validity of generalizing normative data across multiple socioeconomic environments is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

mimic the normative data creation of ImPACT™ to examine the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on ImPACT™ composite scores.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional design analyzed completed computerized neuropsychological test data (ImPACT™) obtained to establish the baseline scores of cognitive function from males aged 13-15 years ( = 300) and 16-18 years ( = 331) from an urban high school system. Comparisons between baseline scores and normative ImPACT™ values were calculated utilizing -tests with ImPACT™ composite scores serving as dependent variables.

RESULTS

significant differences between age-dependent urban composite scores and ImPACT™ normative values for 13-15- and 16-18-year-olds were found for Composite Verbal Memory, Composite Visual Memory, Composite Motor and Composite Reaction Time ( < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Significant differences exist between urban high school athletes and ImPACT™-provided age-dependent normative scores, with urban participants performing below age-dependent normative values. These findings support establishing SES appropriate normative values when baseline test scores are not available for direct comparison in order to provide better evaluation and post-concussion management across diverse populations.