Virginia Research Day 2025

Medical Student Research Clinical

09 Retrospective Study on Differences in Sport and Gender in D1 College Athletes with Baseline Concussion Testing Using the New SCAT-6 Concussion Assessment

Melody Hahn, MS, OMS II; Atiya Qillawala, MA, OMS II; Nathan Heims, OMS I; Zack Maust, MS, LAT, ATC; Matthew Chung, DO; Gunnar Brolinson, DO; Mark Rogers, DO Corresponding author: mhahn@vcom.edu

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

One of the most widely used concussion assessments is the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT). It was originally developed in 2005 by The Concussion in Sport Group (CISG) and has been modified over the years to the most recent and sixth version called the SCAT-6, released in 2023. Compared to previous versions, the SCAT-6 now has a time limit to complete the assessment correctly, a revised neurological screening section, a new coordination and oculomotor screening, an addition of a timed component of reading months backward, and a revised balance examination with a dual task tandem gait assessment. While the data on the SCAT-6 is scarce due to its novelty, Virginia Tech athletics has required all their student-athletes to undergo baseline testing for the 2024-25 school year. Baseline concussion testing establishes a student athlete’s

normal or baseline assessment for each of the different cognitive, memory, and vestibulo-occular tasks within the assessment. There has been little research regarding gender and sport-type differences in baseline testing of D1 college athletes using the new SCAT-6 assessment tool. Previous research evaluating sex differences and student-athlete sport type with the SCAT-5 has shown differences in baseline scores among different sport groups and overall female collegiate athletes outperformed male athletes and showed minimally higher symptom endorsement. Research regarding sex differences in collegiate athletes when performing specific tests such as dynamic and static balance testing and neuropsychological function testing, which are both used in the SCAT-6, has shown some sex differences,

especially regarding the e visual memory composite scores but overall, more data needs to be analyzed to understand how sex and sport-type will impact the baseline SCAT-6 score in collegiate athletes. With the baseline data from Virginia Tech student-athletes, we intend to do a retrospective analysis of the data gathered through the new SCAT-6 assessment to compare baseline scores across multiple athletic groups and male and female D1 athletes. Examining sport and gender-specific differences and similarities will allow future users of the SCAT-6 to have a better understanding of a baseline score accounting for sport and sex differences. This study was approved by the VCOM IRB, protocol number 2024-243.

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