Epidemiology of soccer-related head injury in children 5-14 years in Victoria, Australia.

Aim: Our aim was to use epidemiological data to determine the incidence of soccer-related head injuries in children aged 5-14 years who presented at emergency departments (EDs) or were admitted in hospitals in Victoria, Australia.

Methods: ED presentation and hospital admission de-identified aggregate data were from the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit. Soccer participation data were compared with the soccer-related head injury data to determine the incidence of this injury among these children.

Results: The incidence of ED presentations was 0.17% of children participating in soccer during the study period (financial years 2011-2012 to 2015-2016). The 10-14-years age group presented with more head injuries than the 5-9-years age group. For the admissions data, soccer had a significantly lower (P = 0.0379) incidence of head injury when compared with 'sport as a whole'.

Conclusions: The low incidence of soccer-related head injuries presenting to an ED or admission to hospital is consistent with international findings.