A surge in sports-related brain injuries among youths is pushing US health officials to call for public-policy changes after similar safety efforts helped reduce deaths from motor-vehicle accidents.
While deaths from brain trauma among those ages 15 to 19 have been cut in half from 1999 to 2010, emergency-room trips for athletic injuries suffered by those teens have greatly increased, the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. It has begun collaborating with the NCAA, the NFL and others to educate coaches and players about on-field trauma.