People who have repeated mild head injuries over a prolonged period, such as boxers and Gridiron football players, are at risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (or the related variant dementia pugilistica), a severe, chronic disorder involving a decline in mental and physical abilities. Epidemiology
It is not known exactly how common PCS is. Estimates of the prevalence at three  months post-injury are between 24 and 84%, a variation possibly caused by different populations or study methodologies. The estimated incidence of PPCS (persistent postconcussive syndrome) is around 10% of mTBI cases. Since PCS by definition only exists in people who have had a head injury, demographics and risk factors are similar to those for head injury; for example, young adults are at higher risk than others for receiving head injury, and, consequently, of developing PCS.The existence of PCS in children is controversial. It is possible that childrens brains have enough plasticity that they are not affected by long-term consequences of concussion (though such consequences are known to result from moderate and severe head trauma). On the other hand, childrens brains may be more vulnerable to the injury, since they are still developing and have fewer skills that can compensate for deficits. Clinical research has found higher rates of post-concussion symptoms in children with TBI than in those with injuries to other parts of the body, and that the symptoms are more common in anxious children. Symptoms in children are similar to those in adults, but children exhibit fewer of them.
It is frequently stated in the literature and considered to be common knowledge that 15–30% of people with PCS have not recovered by a year after the injury, but this estimate is imprecise because it is based on studies of people admitted to a hospital, the methodologies of which have been criticized. In approximately 15% of people, symptoms may persist for years or be permanent. If symptoms are not resolved by one year, they are likely to be permanent, though improvements may occur after even two or three years, or may suddenly occur after a long time without much improvement. Older people and those who have previously had another head injury are likely to take longer to recover.The way in which children cope with the injury after it occurs may have more of an impact than factors that existed prior to the injury. Childrens mechanisms for dealing with their injuries may have an effect on the duration of symptoms, and parents who do not deal effectively with anxiety about childrens post-injury functioning may be less able to help their children recover.If another blow to the head occurs after a concussion but before its symptoms have gone away, there is a slight risk of developing the serious second-impact syndrome (SIS). In SIS, the brain rapidly swells, greatly increasing intracranial pressure.