Sufrinko, Alicia. “Family History of Migraine Associated With Posttraumatic Migraine Symptoms Following Sport-Related Concussion.” Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, Jan. & feb. 2018, 7-14.

For This week’s research example I chose an article titled “Family History of Migraine Associated with Posttraumatic Migraine Symptoms Following Sport-Related Concussion” in the “Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.” The question this article attempts to answers is: Does a family history of migraines increase the likelihood of posttraumatic migraine symptom (PTM) following a Sports Related Injury? PTM is when one experiences severe chronic headaches after experiencing trauma to the head or neck area. After surveying 232 kids between the ages of 12 and 18 with a published family history of migraine document, it was concluded that 33% of athletes with no family history of migraine met criteria for PTM, meanwhile 57% of athletes with a familial history of migraine met criteria. In conclusion, participants with a family history of migraines are 2.6 times more likely to experience PTM symptoms after experiencing a sports related injury. As a result, family history of migraine may be regarded as a secondary risk factor to consider when one experiences head trauma. There are limitations to this research however. First, there is a possibility of a selection bias because patients were recruited for this research from a specialty concussion clinic with a large interval (1-13 days post injury). Also, the severity of each individuals head injury was different, which also brings up another flaw. It is impossible to research 232 kids with the same severity of concussion, because each concussion is different. All in all, I believe it is hard to ultimately predict whether or not genetics play a significant role in this research.

The author mentioned that he used Chi-square analyses and t tests to determine whether groups differed on any demographic and injury characteristics. Surveys and questionnaires is a data collection method needed for this research, as well as public and private records. Reports of acts, behavior, or events, and demographic data are two types of data needed to conclude this research.