Study finds newspapers have changed coverage of ice hockey concussions over last quarter-century

Newspapers are paying more attention to the severity and long-term impact of concussions

2013-04-18

(Press-News.org) TORONTO, April 17, 2013 –Newspapers are paying more attention to the severity and long-term impact of concussions and other traumatic brain injuries in ice hockey than they did 25 years ago, a new study has found. They're also writing more stories about the need to act against aggression, especially at youth levels, and reporting about concussions suffered by a wide range of players, not just stars. However, newspapers are still reporting that head injuries "are just part of the game" and that hockey players should accept this occupational risk or not play, the study found. The study, by Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, examined coverage of sports-related traumatic brain injuries in four major North American newspapers over the last 25 years. Its goal was to examine how the culture around concussions and violence in ice hockey has or has not changed over the last generation. The papers, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Toronto Star and the Vancouver Sun, were chosen so that the study included Canadian and U.S. newspapers, east and west coast hockey reports and cities with original six and expansion-era National Hockey League teams. The study was published today in the open access journal PLOS ONE. Dr. Cusimano said it was important to study newspaper coverage of traumatic brain injuries because such coverage can shape public attitudes and behavior on health issues. To examine how reporting themes changed over time, they looked specifically at articles published in 1998-2000 and 2009-11. They found the Canadian papers discussed aggression in hockey more in recent reports and over time the role of protective equipment shifted from being protective to being a potential cause of injury. The more recent stories also dealt more often with the severity and personal impact of head injuries and violence. In comparison, the American newspapers discussed aggression as a contributor to head injuries in hockey less frequently, but discussed perceptions of the risks of brain injury more often. "Both American and Canadian newspapers have increasingly reported on the need for rule changes and the need to protect ice hockey players from violence related traumatic brain injury," Dr. Cusimano said.

"Developing ways to keep players safer in sports requires that we understand how attitudes and behaviors related to brain injury and violence in that sport are preserved and how they change over time. Since newspapers both report and shape culture in a sport, this research provides insight into the prevention of brain injuries and violence in sports and the roles that media can play in the process."

### About St. Michael's Hospital St Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 23 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, care of the homeless and global health are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Centre, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information, or to interview Dr. Cusimano, contact: Leslie Shepherd
Manager, Media Strategy
Communications and Public Affairs Department
St. Michael's Hospital
416-864-6094 or 647-300-1753
shepherdl@smh.ca
Inspired Care. Inspiring Science. END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Prototype generators emit much less carbon monoxide, NIST finds

2013-04-18

Portable electric generators retrofitted with off-the-shelf hardware by the University of Alabama (UA) emitted significantly lower levels of carbon monoxide (CO) exhaust, according to the results* of tests conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Compared with standard portable generators, CO emissions from the prototype machines were reduced by 90 percent or more, depending on the specific hardware used and operating conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ...

Laser optics plus ultrasound imaging holds promise as a noninvasive test for prostate cancer

2013-04-18

Multispectral photoacoustic imaging, which combines laser optics and ultrasound imaging technologies, can reliably distinguish between benign and malignant prostate tissue, a new study indicates. Researchers at the University of Rochester looked at 42 prostatectomy specimens using the new imaging technique. Multispectral photoacoustic imaging, still in its infancy, predicted 25 out of 26 benign tissues correctly and 13 out of 16 malignant tissues correctly, said Dr. Vikram Dogra, lead author of the study. Lipids, water, oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin in the blood ...

New ablation technique holds promise for liver cancer patients

2013-04-18

A new minimally invasive tumor ablation technique is providing hope for liver cancer patients who can't undergo surgery or thermal ablation, a study shows. The study of 22 patients at the Universitatsklinikum Regensberg in Regensberg, Germany, found that irreversible electroporation (IRE) successfully destroyed tumor tissue in 70% of these patients. These patients were not responsive to conventional therapy or their tumor was in a location that was not suitable for standard treatment, said Dr. Philipp Wiggermann, lead author of the study. "If one considers that IRE was ...

Demanding physical work associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease

2013-04-18

Rome, 18 April 2013. Two studies presented at this year's EuroPRevent 2013 congress suggest that demanding physical work has a detrimental effect on an individual's risk of coronary heart disease. The first was a case-control study described by Dr Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Associate Professor of Biostatistics-Epidemiology at Harokopio University, Athens, which evaluated occupation in 250 consecutive patients with a first stroke, 250 with a first acute coronary event and 500 equally matched controls.(1) Overall, when assessed on a 9-unit scale (1 = physically demanding ...

Mental vulnerability associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease

2013-04-18

Rome, 18 April 2013. People deemed to be "mentally vulnerable" are at a significantly increased risk of both fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease, according to results of a large population study from Denmark. The details of the study were presented today at the EuroPRevent 2013 congress in Rome. (1) The study's first author, Dr Anders Borglykke from the Research Centre for Prevention and Health  at Glostrup University Hospital, Denmark, explained that psychosocial factors and personality traits have been consistently associated with cardiovascular disease ...

Long-term exposure to fine particles of traffic pollution increases risk of heart disease

2013-04-18

Rome, 18 April 2013. The association between road traffic and heart disease has been suggested in several studies. In 2012 a large prospective cohort study from Denmark showed that traffic noise was significantly associated with risk of heart attack - for every 10 decibel increase in noise exposure (either at the time of the attack or over the five years preceding it) there was a 12% increased risk.(1) Now, a new study presented at the EuroPRevent 2013 congress in Rome shows that long-term exposure to fine particle matter (PM) air pollution in part derived from traffic ...

Despite superbug crisis, progress in antibiotic development 'alarmingly elusive'

2013-04-18

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2013 – Despite the desperate need for new antibiotics to combat increasingly deadly resistant bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only one new systemic antibiotic since the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched its 10 x '20 Initiative in 2010 — and that drug was approved two and a half years ago. In a new report, published online today in Clinical Infectious Diseases, IDSA identified only seven new drugs in development for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli ...

Screening breast ultrasound detects cancers missed on mammography in women with dense breasts

2013-04-18

Screening breast ultrasound performed after mammography on women with greater than 50% breast density detects an additional 3.4 cancers or high risk lesions per one thousand woman screened, a detection rate just under that of screening mammography alone for women with less dense breasts, a new study shows. Screening mammography detects 4-5 cancers per thousand women screened. The study, conducted in conjunction with seven Connecticut radiology practices, included 19,745 women who had dense breasts and "normal" mammograms. Sixty-seven cancers were found, said Dr. Sarah ...

Fascinating rhythm: The brain's 'slow waves'

2013-04-18

New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep at the rate of about one cycle per second, are assumed to play a role in processes such as consolidation of memory. For the first time, researchers have shown conclusively that slow waves start in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for cognitive functions. They also found that such a wave can be set in motion by a tiny cluster of neurons. "The brain is a rhythm machine, producing all kinds of rhythms all ...

California real estate disputes: Partition in kind vs. partition by sale

2013-04-18

California real estate disputes: Partition in kind vs. partition by sale Article provided by Law Offices of H. Michael Soroy Visit us at http://www.soroy.com/ When co-owners of real estate disagree about how to use and maintain their shared property, it sometimes becomes necessary to settle the dispute by requesting that the court sever the co-ownership in a process known as partition. In California, a co-owner of property typically may initiate a partition action at any time. Partition in kind One way that the courts may resolve a partition action in California ...

Study finds newspapers have changed coverage of ice hockey concussions over last quarter-century

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: