17/03/2026
Ottawa, Ontario — Tuesday March 17, 2026
Teens and adults who experience anxiety or depression after a concussion often face a tougher recovery and more lingering symptoms. While mental health challenges are known to be common during concussion recovery, questions remain: Are anxiety and depression even more frequent than expected—and can we predict who is most at risk?
CHEO Research Institute researchers Roger Zemek, Andrée-Anne Ledoux, and first author Jacquie van Ierssel explored these questions in a new study from the TRANSCENDENT concussion research program.
“We’ve known concussions can affect mental health, but we didn’t realize just how common anxiety and depression are. Being able to identify who is at a higher risk means we can better guide recovery to meet individual needs” – Dr. Roger Zemek
Working across multiple clinical sites, the team analyzed data from teens and adults after concussion, looking at how often anxiety and depression occurred and whether certain factors increased the likelihood of developing them. The study found that anxiety and depression were more common than predicted. It also identified several factors that raised risk: injuries from motor vehicle collisions or workplace incidents, preinjury anxiety, postinjury sleep problems, and female sex.
For clinicians, these findings highlight the importance of screening early for mental health concerns after concussion and making timely referrals to mental health professionals as needed to ensure that teens and adults with concussions get the support that they need sooner to help them in their recovery.