Background: Physiological differences between a maturing and matured brain alters how Sports-Related Concussion (SRC) affects different age groups; therefore, a review specific to university-aged student-athletes is needed.
Objectives: Determine time to recovery for symptom burden, neurocognitive and Vestibular-Ocular-Motor (VOM) function and academic impact in university-aged student-athletes.
Methods: Searches were conducted in PubMed, SpringerLink, PsycINFO, Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane, Web of Science and EMBASE. Articles were included if they contained original data collected within 30 days in university-aged student-athletes, analysed SRC associated symptoms, neurocognitive or VOM function or academic ability and published in English. Two reviewers independently reviewed sources, using the Oxford Classification of Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) and the Downs and Black checklist, and independently extracting data before achieving consensus.
Results: 58 articles met the inclusion criteria. Recovery of symptoms occurred by 7 and 3-5.3 days for neurocognition. The evidence base did not allow for a conclusion on recovery time for VOM function or academic ability. Few papers investigated recovery times at specified re-assessment time-points and have used vastly differing methodologies.
Conclusions: To fully understand the implication of SRC on the university-aged student-athlete' studies using a multi-faceted approach at specific re-assessments time points are required.Systematic review registration number: CRD42019130685.
Keywords: Academic Capability; Neurocognition; Sports-Related Concussion; Vestibular-Ocular-Motor Screening.