Short Attention Span Summary
If you are a little cray-cray before your concussion, you complain of symptoms longer than if you’re not. Pre-injury somatization symptom score was the best predictor of post-concussive symptom duration.
FOAM Report
Abstract
Neurology. 2016 May 17;86(20):1856-63. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002679. Epub 2016 Apr 20.
Preinjury somatization symptoms contribute to clinical recovery after sport-related concussion.
Nelson LD1, Tarima S2, LaRoche AA2, Hammeke TA2, Barr WB2,Guskiewicz K2, Randolph C2, McCrea MA2.
Author information:
1From the Departments of Neurosurgery & Neurology (L.D.N., M.A.M.), Department of Neurosurgery (A.A.L.), Division of Biostatistics, Institute for Health and Society (S.T.), Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine (T.A.H.), Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Department of Neurology (W.B.B.), New York University School of Medicine, New York; Department of Exercise and Sport Science (K.G.), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Department of Neurology (C.R.), Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL. [email protected].
2From the Departments of Neurosurgery & Neurology (L.D.N., M.A.M.), Department of Neurosurgery (A.A.L.), Division of Biostatistics, Institute for Health and Society (S.T.), Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine (T.A.H.), Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Department of Neurology (W.B.B.), New York University School of Medicine, New York; Department of Exercise and Sport Science (K.G.), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Department of Neurology (C.R.), Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the degree to which preinjury and acute postinjury psychosocial and injury-related variables predict symptom duration following sport-related concussion.
METHODS:
A total of 2,055 high school and collegiate athletes completed preseason evaluations. Concussed athletes (n = 127) repeated assessments serially (<24 hours and days 8, 15, and 45) postinjury. Cox proportional hazard modeling was used to predict concussive symptom duration (in days). Predictors considered included demographic and history variables; baseline psychological, neurocognitive, and balance functioning; acute injury characteristics; and postinjury clinical measures.
RESULTS:
Preinjury somatic symptom score (Brief Symptom Inventory-18 somatization scale) was the strongest premorbid predictor of symptom duration. Acute (24-hour) postconcussive symptom burden (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-3 symptom severity) was the best injury-related predictor of recovery. These 2 predictors were moderately correlated (r = 0.51). Path analyses indicated that the relationship between preinjury somatization symptoms and symptom recovery was mediated by postinjury concussive symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS:
Preinjury somatization symptoms contribute to reported postconcussive symptom recovery via their influence on acute postconcussive symptoms. The findings highlight the relevance of premorbid psychological factors in postconcussive recovery, even in a healthy athlete sample relatively free of psychopathology or medical comorbidities. Future research should elucidate the neurobiopsychosocial mechanisms that explain the role of this individual difference variable in outcome following concussive injury.
© 2016 American Academy of Neurology.
PMCID: PMC4873681 [Available on 2017-05-17]
PMID: 27164666 [PubMed – in process]
