Person: Baugh, Christine
Loading...
Email Address
AA Acceptance Date
Birth Date
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Job Title
Last Name
Baugh
First Name
Christine
Name
Baugh, Christine
4 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Publication Repetitive head impact exposure and later-life plasma total tau in former National Football League players(Elsevier, 2016) Alosco, Michael L.; Tripodis, Yorghos; Jarnagin, Johnny; Baugh, Christine; Martin, Brett; Chaisson, Christine E.; Estochen, Nate; Song, Linan; Cantu, Robert C.; Jeromin, Andreas; Stern, Robert A.Introduction: Blood protein analysis of total tau (t-tau) may be a practical screening biomarker for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative tauopathy associated with repetitive head impact (RHI) exposure. We examined plasma t-tau in symptomatic former National Football League (NFL) players compared with controls and the relationship between RHI exposure and later-life plasma t-tau. Methods: Ninety-six former NFL players (age 40–69) and 25 same-age controls underwent blood draw to determine plasma t-tau levels. The cumulative head impact index (CHII) quantified RHI exposure. Subjects completed measures of clinical function. Results: A higher CHII predicted greater plasma t-tau in the former NFL players (P = .0137). No group differences in plasma t-tau emerged, but a concentration ≥3.56 pg/mL was 100% specific to former NFL players. Plasma t-tau did not predict clinical function. Discussion Greater RHI exposure predicted higher later-life plasma t-tau concentrations, and further study on plasma t-tau as a candidate screening biomarker for CTE is warranted.Publication Concussion Management Plan Compliance: A Study of NCAA Power 5 Conference Schools(SAGE Publications, 2017) Buckley, Thomas A.; Baugh, Christine; Meehan, William P.; DiFabio, Melissa S.Background: In response to concerns over concussions and repeated head impacts that occur during sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) mandated that all member institutions enact a concussion management plan (CMP). Although institutional and health care provider self-reports have been investigated, compliance with NCAA protocol recommendations has not been examined. Purpose: To examine the CMPs from the 65 institutions within the NCAA Power 5 conferences for compliance with the NCAA 2015 concussion guidelines. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Each institution’s publicly available CMP was obtained in 2015, reviewed, and coded for compliance with each of the required 47 components. Overall compliance rate, item-level, category-level, and institution-level compliance was assessed. Independent predictors of compliance, including each institution’s athletic training staff size, academic performance, and athletic performance, were examined with quasi-binomial regression. Results: CMPs varied substantially in length and level of detail. The overall compliance rate for all components across all institutions was 94.3% (2880/3055). Twelve components achieved 100% (65/65) compliance, and the lowest levels of compliance were clustered in “return to learn.” There were 22 institutions that achieved a 100% compliance rate; the lowest institutional compliance was 59.6%. There were no significant associations between the independent predictors and institutional compliance. Conclusion: Overall compliance with NCAA concussion management requirements was high, but there remains room for improvement. The lowest level of compliance was clustered in the return-to-learn section. There were limited details provided in the reducing head trauma component. Items with lower compliance (reducing head trauma, return to learn) tended to be outside the core competencies of the medical staff, indicating an area for improvement. Encouragingly, many institutions and specific components demonstrated full compliance.Publication Concussions and youth football: using a public health law framework to head off a potential public health crisis(Oxford University Press, 2015) Baugh, Christine; Shapiro, Zachary E.Concussion from sport is increasingly recognized as a public health priority. In response, all states and the District of Columbia have enacted youth concussion legislation. This paper first examines key developments in concussion-related policy and legislation and then uses the findings from recent scientific studies to highlight the need to incorporate evolving scientific evidence into concussion legislation in order to better protect youth and adolescent athletes. Next, the paper discusses the framework of empirical health law research and why it should be applied in the case of concussion legislation. Finally, this paper argues that empirical health law research should be considered in any decision about whether legislation can help improve the health and safety of young players, a particularly vulnerable population whose unique needs have not yet been adequately addressed.Publication Concussion management in US college football: progress and pitfalls(2015) Baugh, Christine; Kroshus, EmilyReducing the frequency and severity of concussions from sport is an important issue in public health currently addressed by a multifaceted approach. Given the large number of participants and the comparatively high risk of injury, American football is an important sport to consider when examining concussion management practices. Focusing on American football at the collegiate level, this manuscript describes current research regarding concussion epidemiology, policy, implementation of clinical diagnosis, management and return-to-play standards and athlete concussion education. Although American collegiate sports leagues have put forth concussion-related policies in recent years, the implementation of these policies and related effects on athlete concussion education, clinical management of concussion and ultimately athlete health outcomes are not well understood. Additional research is needed.